Latest Technology in Electric Passenger Vehicles to be Launched

1 Oct 09

A new electric minibus using the latest ultracapacitor technology will be demonstrated at an upcoming press conference.

While this news item focuses on electric passenger vehicles, ultracapacitor technology holds great promise for light commercial vehicles, which are increasingly featuring in the transport inductry's share of emissions.

Sinautec Automobile Technologies, LLC and the American University (AU) will showcase America’s first ultracapacitor electric vehicle during a press conference and demonstration on October 21.
 
Sinautec will display and demonstrate an eleven-seat minibus, powered by state-of-the-art ultracapacitors, and charged by a 5,000 watt mobile solar unit. Ultracapacitor vehicles consume no fossil fuels, produce no tailpipe emissions, and are cost competitive compared to similar buses running on conventional fuels.
 
“With a combination of advanced solar and ultracapacitor technologies, Sinautec seeks to demonstrate the certainty of a zero-carbon future for the US public transportation sector,” said Dan Ye, Sinautec’s CEO. Unlike battery-powered vehicles, ultracapacitor vehicles can be charged within minutes, and have important applications in transportation, shuttle services, tourism and recreation, he added.
 
Sinautec is an Arlington, Virginia-based company that develops high energy density ultracapacitors in the transportation and utility energy storage markets. With its research partner, Shanghai Aowei Technology Development Company, Sinautec successfully developed a series of ultracapacitor municipal buses that have been in commercial use in the greater Shanghai area since 2006.
 
Sinautec is currently working with several major research universities to develop the next generation of nano-scale ultracapacitors. For a video demonstration of the electric ultracapacitor bus visit http://www.sinautecus.com/.  

What is on Show

The demonstration will showcase America’s first ultracapacitor electric vehicle.

• The 5-metre minibus showcased will be the first electric vehicle in the country powered completely by ultracapacitors. The minibus can be fully recharged in fifteen minutes, unlike battery vehicles, which typically take hours to recharge.
• Electricity used in this demonstration will be generated by a 5,000 watt mobile solar station and a vertical wind turbine, which will generate zero carbon footprints. Wind and solar used with ultracapacitors hold great potential as source of power for electric vehicles in the future.
• Two dozen full-size ultracapacitor buses have been in commercial operation in Shanghai, China for the past three years.
• The ultracapacitor vehicle demonstration is a combined effort of American University, Sinautec Automobile Technologies, The Stella Group, and Shanghai Aowei Technologies Corp.