New technologies (supercapacitors) for energy storage and energy recuperation for a higher energy efficiency of the trams and buses of the public transportation company. Intermediate report January 2010

This multidisciplinary project aims to assess the cost and benefits of using supercapacitor based peak power units and energy storage systems in public transportation. Buses, trams, metro trains and the electric distribution network applications will be assessed from economic, environmental (air pollution, climate change, noise, vibrations,etc.) and technical criteria. Supercapacitors are light weight and high power energy storage devices which have an operational life typical equal to that of a vehicle. Supercapacitors allow storing energy while breaking the vehicle or driving downhill. They can be used in buses or in railway applications. In the latter case they can also avoid the use of overhead power lines in certain parts of the route as well as to act as voltage drop compensation in weak distribution electricity networks. The objective of this project is to assess these different applications, to define the required specifications for the supercapacitors modules, in terms of energy capacity and power, for each application and to assess the potential energy savings and reduction of the impacts on air pollution (VUB task). Economic considerations (ULB task) will also be vital to estimate whether the technology is mature and whether it is worth investing in supercapacitive solutions for the Brussels public transport company.
In addition to the models and studies for energy recovery in public transport, a suitable DC DC converter for EDLCs is presented and analyzed in detail. The design and control strategy for a Series Resonant Converter are proposed.