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Originally Posted by clett
A series hybrid really needs about 5 kWh to allow a decent plug-in range, thus ruling ultracaps out....of lithium-ion can be cycled thousands of times from 0 to 100% and back in 5 minutes with massive power outputs (eg A123, Altairnano). These were previously the advantages of the ultracapacitor, so it's difficult to see where the advantage of the ultracapacitor now ....
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Yes, I see Altair has a $750,000 initial contract already to supply batteries for the Phoenix Motors EV's. There are numerous trade-offs and supply issues that have to be dealt with to design the vehicle. I haven't seen the charging efficiency of the Altair batteries, or the price - so if either of these factors are inferior to the Ultracaps that become available - then Ultracaps may be preferable. You could use a 1 kwhr Ultracap to do the "grunt work" of absorbing & supplying the high currents of acceleration & braking and normal hill travel and use a cheap 5 kwhr Li-Ion battery pack to supply the much "gentler" needs of plug-in or hill climbing in the mountains at speed or occasional sustained travel at extreme speeds. Of course, you would need a DC to DC convertor between the battery pack & ultracaps.