Electrobug
New member
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2011
- Messages
- 2
The main reason for putting the Leaf's battery in parallel with a Ultracapacitor is the possibility of extending the battery life 3 times... I am not an Electrical Engineer but I used to tinker around with my Electric RC Car when I was young! I also am not a Leaf Owner just yet but I am planning on it once I see some of my doubts get answers. I really want to discuss the pros and cons and hopefully get some answers from Nissan themselves. Here is an article about a recent advancement in ultracapacitors:
http://taintedgreen.com/green-business/imagine-a-nissan-leaf-with-a-graphene-based-supercapacitor-battery/000856/mj-6
It seems we are a long ways away from replacing batteries with ultra capacitors but I will list some information about them. "Supercapacitors/Ultracapacitors/hypercapacitors are devices that can store electricity, a bit like batteries, but their different characteristics mean that they have different pros and cons. Unlike batteries, supercapacitors don't have 'memory'. They can be charged and discharged an unlimited number of times without degradation of storage capacity, which means that you can charge and discharge them completely (batteries in hybrids and EVs are usually only cycled within a fraction of their full charge to extend their lives). They can also be charged and discharged much faster than batteries (so that very fast recharge stations for EVs would be possible). The main downside is that so far their energy density has been much lower than chemical batteries, so they store only a fraction of the power."
Here are the Leaf's battery Specs:
Type: laminated lithium-ion battery
Total capacity (kWh): 24
Power output (kW): over 90
Energy density (Wh/kg): 140
Power density (kW/kg): 2.5
Number of modules: 48
Here is a brief explanation about a battery-ultracapacitor system does:
http://www.illinoiscapacitor.com/pdf/Papers/Flat%20Supercapacitors%20evolve%20to%20meet%20needs.pdf
So what all this boils down to is can you modify your leaf in this way as a means to offset the cost of replacing the batteries plus the cost of the setup? Would Nissan consider doing this in future models? Or will tinkerers be left to answer these questions? Let me know what you think, there are other perks to adding an ultracapacitor such as a slight range increase! Also if you are a speed freak the capacitor would help in raising the juice (amps) required to move those wheels!
http://taintedgreen.com/green-business/imagine-a-nissan-leaf-with-a-graphene-based-supercapacitor-battery/000856/mj-6
It seems we are a long ways away from replacing batteries with ultra capacitors but I will list some information about them. "Supercapacitors/Ultracapacitors/hypercapacitors are devices that can store electricity, a bit like batteries, but their different characteristics mean that they have different pros and cons. Unlike batteries, supercapacitors don't have 'memory'. They can be charged and discharged an unlimited number of times without degradation of storage capacity, which means that you can charge and discharge them completely (batteries in hybrids and EVs are usually only cycled within a fraction of their full charge to extend their lives). They can also be charged and discharged much faster than batteries (so that very fast recharge stations for EVs would be possible). The main downside is that so far their energy density has been much lower than chemical batteries, so they store only a fraction of the power."
Here are the Leaf's battery Specs:
Type: laminated lithium-ion battery
Total capacity (kWh): 24
Power output (kW): over 90
Energy density (Wh/kg): 140
Power density (kW/kg): 2.5
Number of modules: 48
Here is a brief explanation about a battery-ultracapacitor system does:
http://www.illinoiscapacitor.com/pdf/Papers/Flat%20Supercapacitors%20evolve%20to%20meet%20needs.pdf
So what all this boils down to is can you modify your leaf in this way as a means to offset the cost of replacing the batteries plus the cost of the setup? Would Nissan consider doing this in future models? Or will tinkerers be left to answer these questions? Let me know what you think, there are other perks to adding an ultracapacitor such as a slight range increase! Also if you are a speed freak the capacitor would help in raising the juice (amps) required to move those wheels!