ABSTRACT
There are many requirements for energy storages applied in an automotive application, such as specific energy, specific power, efficiency, maintenance requirement, management, cost, environmental adaptation and friendliness, and safety. “Energy storages” are defined in this book as devices that store energy, deliver energy outside (discharge), and accept energy from outside (charge). There are several types of energy storages that have been proposed for electric vehicle (EV) and hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) applications. These energy storages, so far, mainly include chemical batteries, ultracapacitors or supercapacitors, and ultra-high-speed flywheels. The fuel cell, which essentially is a type of energy converter, is discussed in Chapter 15.
