Kia considering ultra-capacitors for next fuel cell vehicle
Kia is reportedly considering the use of ultra-capacitors to store electrical energy in the next generation version of its fuel cell vehicle. Ultra caps have an advantage over batteries in that they can absorb and release energy much more quickly. Unfortunately, they don't have as much capacity and are currently much more expensive. There is a lot of work being done on capacitors and EEStor has made claims of tremendous progress. So far, though, EEStor has not publicly demonstrated any prototypes of its capacitors. In its current form, the Sportage FCEV has a range of 235 miles. Interestingly Honda has gone the opposite direction for its fuel cell vehicles. The previous-generation Honda FCX used ultra-caps but those have been replaced by a lithium ion battery in the FCX Clarity.
[Source: The Telegraph]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Red 9:49PM (9/29/2008)
Fact check: the current FCX Clarity uses Honda's own ultracapacitors for acceleration. For the record, only three companies use this particular ultracap technology (as in the same as Hondas), including Honda. One is a Korean company, the other is Panasonic. Not sure where Kia would get it from, but it's doubtful they'd source it in-house. I'd bet on them sourcing it from the Korean company, I believe called Ness Cap in Yongin, South Korea.
http://world.honda.com/FuelCell/FCX/ultracapacitor/
http://www.nesscap.com/
Reply
Sam Abuelsamid 9:28PM (9/29/2008)
The ultra-caps are used in the old generation FCX, not the Clarity. http://world.honda.com/FuelCell/FCX/overview/
The Clarity has switched to a lithium ion battery, http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/11/14/la-2007-2009-honda-fcx-clarity-live-reveal/