Although regenerative braking systems are nothing new in the automotive world, two European startups are hoping to bring to market an ultracapacitor based system for road freight vehicles.
French firm Adgero and German company Skeleton Technologies’ Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) pairs ultracapacitors and an intelligent management system.
The Adgero Hybrid System consists of an electrically-driven axle in the trailer to store kinetic energy, normally lost as heat during braking, in a bank of high-power ultracapacitors. The ultracapacitors then provide acceleration power via a control unit in the tractor.
The hybrid system reduces fuel consumption and associated emissions, depending on terrain and traffic profile, the firms claim.
Road testing the system will begin in 2016 with Altrans, a French logistics company.
Adgero and Skeleton Technologies then plan to ramp up production, with the objective of producing 8,000–10,000 units annually by 2020.
Market Research Reports recently announced the global supercapacitors market was to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 17.31% and reach US$2.63 billion by 2022 from $0.63 billion in 2014.
The growth opportunity for supercapacitors market lies in improvement of storage capacity and demand for Hybrid Electric Vehicles, the “Global Supercapacitors Market Outlook (2014-2022)” report stated.
