[All] Fwd: IEEE Spectrum: A Battery-Capacitor Hybrid (A potentially disruptive technology)

[Robert Milligan]

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Begin forwarded message:

> From: Robert Milligan <mill at continuum.org>
> Date: August 5, 2010 11:33:44 PM GMT-04:00
> To: Darshpreet Bhatti <bdarshpr at region.waterloo.on.ca>
> Cc: Nancy Button <bnancy at region.waterloo.on.ca>, Becky Schlenvogt <sbecky at region.waterloo.on.ca 
> >
> Subject: IEEE Spectrum: A Battery-Capacitor Hybrid (A potentially  
> disruptive technology)
>
> Darshpreet,
>
> Thank you for our brief discussion the other day. Also, I am glad  
> that you enjoyed your western Canada vacation -- especially Banff!   
> Now you are likely fully rested for the great LRT challenges ahead.
>
> I agree that the current approaches by LRT manufacturers Siemens,  
> Alstom, Bombardier, ...
> to on-board electrical energy storage (Ni-Cd etc. batteries &/or  
> ultra-capacitors) is very expensive. And I really appreciate that  
> Alstom and Siemens especially have some installed systems that  
> combine a catenary and on-board electrical storage for special short- 
> distance situations (mostly "heritage" streets) &/or a complete LRT  
> system with charging at each station -- thus helping to prove  
> feasibility of (similar) concept.
>
> However, the future of lower cost, better performing, ...  on-board  
> energy storage is here at least in the form of the proven and being- 
> manufactured 'UltraBattery" (a battery/ultra-capacitor  
> integration)!! (And the new EEStor technology seems even better if  
> lives up to cost/performance predictions! See, http://thefraserdomain.typepad.com/energy/2006/01/eestor_ultracap.html) 
> .
>
> "Furukawa Battery, in Yokohama, Japan, which has already begun  
> manufacturing the devices. Researchers at Australia’s Commonwealth  
> Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), who  
> invented the UltraBattery, tested it early this year in a Honda  
> Insight hybrid, which ran for 160 000 kilometers."
> http://spectrum.ieee.org/green-tech/advanced-cars/a-batterycapacitor-hybridfor-hybrids
>
> Googling will produce all sorts of validation sites. Here are a few:
> http://www.furukawadenchi.co.jp/english/release/080924.pdf
> http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=1492331
> http://news.thomasnet.com/companystory/East-Penn-Brings-UltraBattery-Technology-to-North-America-820994
> http://www.csiro.au/news/UltraBattery4HybridCars.html
> http://www.csiro.au/science/Ultra-Battery.html
> http://jcwinnie.biz/wordpress/?p=3280
>
> With an on-board bank of Ultra-Batteries, you could very quickly  
> (seconds vs. minutes) re-charge at terminals and capture re- 
> generative braking energy at stations at least -- as I have been  
> suggesting,  but using an on-board lithium-titanate battery as in  
> the Proterra bus (my recent research caused a re-think here because  
> I discovered very high energy-recharging costs, besides the high  
> cost of the battery itself, etc.).
>
> And with the right LRT manufacturer, our very innovative Waterloo  
> Region could be the first in the World to do this, and thereby  
> further reduce LRT system costs, etc. !
>
> Note: bcc copies are being sent to other parties who may have an  
> interest.
>
> Best wishes,
> Robert

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