Metro Magazine

SEP-OCT 2014

Magazine serving the bus and rail transit & motorcoach operations since 1904

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Wireless, Hassle-Free Bus Washing. Efcient, Fast, Unplugged. Afordable bus washing solutions for any feet size. Soap, wash, and rinse transit, coach and cut-away buses in 4-8 minutes, all at the touch of a button. • Autonomous with Twin Controls • Durable stainless steel base and frame • 24V Battery or Diesel Power • Patented brush-only inclination system • Indoor or Outdoor Use Visit us at booth 3061, sign up for your free on-site demo and pick up your show gift! 1-877-637-1900 info@bitimec.com 126 < m ETRO m AGAZINE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2014 metro-magazine.com tech report certain transportation applications. Be- cause ultracapacitors can discharge and recharge quickly, they have incredible durability and can perform more than hundreds of thousands charge-and-dis- charge cycles, leading to less mainte- nance, lower costs and less waste from dead batteries. They can reliably per- form at temperatures ranging from -40 degrees Celsius to 65 degrees Celsius, and efciently absorb and reuse energy that would have otherwise been lost by inefcient storage systems. INTEGRATION IN TRANSPORTATION Ultracapacitors are used in a variety of industries ranging from automotive, rail, truck and bus, amongst others. One of the main applications of ultra- capacitors is in hybrid and electric ve- Energy storage solutions, for applica- tions, such as for onboard regenerative braking or wayside energy recuperation for railcar propulsion, are gaining trac- tion in the energy-intensive transpor- tation industry. As systems integrators look for new ways to be more energy and cost-efcient, they are increasingly turning to ultracapacitors as the energy storage and power delivery solution for transportation applications. At frst glance, an ultracapacitor, also known as a supercapacitor, may appear similar to a lithium-ion battery in terms of size and shape. However, what makes ultracapacitors diferent from batteries is the way they charge and store energy. In batteries, a chemical reaction con- verts stored chemical energy into elec- trical energy, which then flows out of terminals to power an application. Ul- tracapacitors, on the other hand, put an electric charge on plates that are sep- arated by an insulator to store energy in an electric feld. Tis allows them to quickly charge and discharge energy to power a variety of applications more re- liably than a standard battery. BURSTS OF POWER Even though batteries and ultraca- pacitors are different, ultracapacitors can support batteries and other primary energy sources, like fuel cells and com- bustion engines, in a variety of ways. When paired with a batter y, ultraca- pacitors deliver bursts of energy during times of peak power demands to take the electrical load off the battery and can extend battery life by 20% to 25% in Increasing energy efficiency in transportation with ultracapacitors BY DR. KIMBERLY MCGRATH

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