ADVISOR-Based Model of a Battery and an Ultra-Capacitor Energy Source for Hybrid Electric Vehicles

An energy source is the heart of a hybrid electric vehicle. If it is capable of supplying enough power at all times, then it is an adequate source. Major problems presently facing the industry include the size, cost, and efficiency of the energy source. The primary energy source presently used in automotive systems is a battery. In order to reduce the cost of the battery, the current needs to be decreased and stabilized so it is not very erratic. The purpose of this paper is to introduce and justify the use of a new model for an energy source: a battery in parallel with an ultra-capacitor. The ultra-capacitor can supply a large burst of current, but cannot store much energy. Conversely, the battery can store mass amounts of energy; however, without expensive and inefficient units, a battery cannot provide the current that the ultra-capacitor can. By combining the two energy sources in parallel, the storage and peak current characteristics desired can be achieved. The standards of the vehicle are not degraded, allowing this to be a promising technique to incorporate into hybrid electric vehicles to reduce their cost and increase the efficiency of their energy-source system.