Energy storage for electric vehicles

Electric vehicles have reached a mature technology today because they are superior to internal combustion engines (ICE) in efficiency, endurance, durability, acceleration capability and simplicity. Besides, they can recover some energy during regenerative braking and they are also friendly with the environment. However, the energy storage capability is one of their big drawbacks. Autonomous vehicles must carry all the energy they need for a given distance and speed. It means an energy storage system with high specific energy (Wh/kg) and high specific power (W/kg), which allows rapid charge to reduce the long charging time required today. This presentation shows some of the options under study to increase the energy storage capability and to reduce the charging time. A comparative study of different storage alternatives, such as chemical battery systems, ultracapacitors, flywheels and fuel cells are evaluated, showing the advantages and disadvantages of each one of them.