Evaluation and Validation of Super Capacitor Energy Storage applied in Hybrid Electric Vehicles

In order to efficiently and safely use the super capacitor energy storage, the methods of configuration and management are very important. In this paper, a dedicated power profile of energy storage in a passenger car during the Worst-Case speed cycle is applied as the input for the configuration. With respect to voltage variation, maximal charging/discharging current and power losses, the configuration is evaluated in simulation. In order to determine and limit the influence of voltage difference of each super capacitor, the methods of tracing the parameters, identifying and balancing the voltage differ-ence of super capacitors are developed. These methods can ensure the super capacitor energy stor-age having enough energy capacity until end of life (70% rated capacitance). Finally, the simulation results have successfully been validated in lab.