New Battery to Power Hybrid Cars
Australian Engineering Produces Powerful Longer-Lasting Ultrabattery
Australian engineers have created a new battery, the Ultrabattery, to power the next generation of hybrid electric vehicles.
The battery will also have the potential for improving the storage capacity of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power,
The Ultrabattery’s first major test has been to power a car for 100,000 miles around a racing track in the UK.
Over the past 12 months, a team of drivers has put the UltraBattery to the test at the Millbrook Proving Ground, one of Europe’s leading locations for the development and demonstration of land vehicles. It has just completed the 100,000 mile mark
Longer Lasting, More Powerful and Cheaper
The UltraBattery combines a supercapacitor and a lead acid battery in a single unit, creating a hybrid car battery that lasts longer, costs less and is more powerful than current technologies used in hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs).
It was developed by Australia’s CSIRO Energy Transformed National Research Flagship, built by the Furukawa Battery Company of Japan and tested in the UK through the American-based Advanced Lead-Acid Battery Consortium.
Designed to Power Hybrid Cars
As well as being more powerful and longer lasting than current HEV batteries, the UltraBattery also has the ability to provide and absorb charge rapidly during vehicle acceleration and braking, making it particularly suitable for HEVs, which rely on the electric motor to meet peak power needs during acceleration, and can recapture energy normally wasted through braking to recharge the battery.
Hybrid cars or HEVs are proving popular with motorist who want to reduce their carbon emissions and find ways to reduce petrol consumption, especially now that oil supplies are forecast to run out with the next two or three decades.
By marrying a conventional fuel-powered engine with a battery to drive an electric motor, HEVs achieve the dual environmental benefit of reducing both greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel consumption.
“The UltraBattery is a leap forward for low emission transport and uptake of HEVs,” said David Lamb, who leads low emissions transport research with the Energy Transformed National Research Flagship.
“Previous tests show the UltraBattery has a life cycle that is at least four times longer and produces 50 per cent more power than conventional battery systems. It’s also about 70 per cent cheaper than the batteries currently used in HEVs,” he said.
“Passing the 100,000 miles mark is strong evidence of the UltraBattery's capabilities,” Mr Lamb said.
“CSIRO’s ongoing research will further improve the technology’s capabilities, making it lighter, more efficient and capable of setting new performance standards for HEVs.”
Storage For Energy From Renewable Sources
Because of its greater storage capacity, the CSIRO team say UltraBattery technology also has applications for renewable energy storage from wind and solar. CSIRO is part of a technology start-up that will develop and commercialise battery-based storage solutions for these energy sources.
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