Combination of LiCs and EDLCs with Batteries: A New Paradigm of Hybrid Energy Storage for Application in EVs

The research presented in this paper proposes a hybrid energy storage system that combines both electrolytic double-layer capacitors (EDLCs) also known as supercapacitors (SCs) and lithium-ion capacitors (LiCs) also known as hybrid capacitors (HCs) with a battery through a multiple input converter. The proposal was verified in simulation and validated by implementing a laboratory prototype. A new hybridisation topology, which reduces the amount of resource requirement when compared to the conventional hybridisation topology, is introduced. An electric vehicle (EV) current profile from previous research was used to test the performance of the proposed topology. From the results obtained, the hybridisation topology proposed in this research had the lowest cost per unit power at 14.81 $/kW, the lowest cost per unit power to energy, and available power to energy ratio, both at 1:1.3, thus making it a more attractive hybridisation topology than the two conventional alternatives. The multiple input converter built had efficiency values in excess of 80%. The key take away from this paper is that using the proposed hybridisation topology, the battery is less often required to supply energy to the electric vehicle, and so, its cycle life is preserved. Furthermore, since the battery is not used for the repeated acceleration and deceleration in the entire driving cycle, the battery’s cycle life is further preserved. Furthermore, since the battery is not the only storage device in the energy storage system, it can be further downsized to best fit the required base load; therefore, leading to a more optimized energy storage system by reducing the weight and volume of space occupied by the energy storage system, while also achieving better efficiencies.