Assessment of Battery–Supercapacitor Topologies of an Electric Vehicle under Real Driving Conditions

Abstract

Road transport is shifting towards electrified vehicle solutions to achieve the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) carbon neutrality target. According to life cycle assessment analyses, battery production and disposal phases suffer a not-negligible environmental impact to be mitigated with new recycling processes, battery technology, and life-extending techniques. The foundation of this study consists of combining the assessment of vehicle efficiency and battery ageing by applying supercapacitor technology with different topologies to more conventional battery modules. The method employed here consists of analysing different hybrid energy storage system (HESS) topologies for light-duty vehicle applications over a wide range of operating conditions, including real driving cycles. A battery electric vehicle (BEV) has been modelled and validated for this aim, and the reference energy storage system was hybridised with a supercapacitor. Two HESSs with passive and semi-active topologies have been analysed and compared, and an empirical ageing model has been implemented. A rule-based control strategy has been used for the semi-active topology to manage the power split between the battery and supercapacitor. The results demonstrate that the HESS reduced the battery pack root mean square current by up to 45%, slightly improving the battery ageing. The semi-active topology performed sensibly better than the passive one, especially for small supercapacitor sizes, at the expense of more complex control strategies.

Real-Time Management for an EV Hybrid Storage System Based on Fuzzy Control

“…There are three different topologies: Passive, semi-active, and active [5]. In passive configuration, the two sources are simply connected in parallel, reducing peak currents adequately, but the ultracapacitor voltage is limited by the battery bank [18]. Semi-active format, which requires a DC-to-DC converter plugged into the battery or the SC while the other is connected in parallel with the converter, offers better cell protection and HESS sizing, but the layout is restricted by a low performance-to-cost ratio and increased converter sizing.…”

Performance Evaluation of Hybrid Battery–Supercapacitor-Based Energy Storage Systems for Urban-Driven Electric Vehicles

“…Other rule-based HESS energy management algorithms are proposed in Refs. [30,31], in which the threshold is set on the power delivered to the motor instead of its current demand. In this way, both the voltage and the current requirements of the motor are acknowledged.…”

Architecture and Potential of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles

“…Electrification plays a crucial role, with copious investments, in developing technology and infrastructure [1]. Electrified lightduty vehicles have the advantage of high overall efficiency at the expense of battery costs, weight, and lifetime, which can be partially improved by adopting hybrid powertrains and hybrid energy storage systems [2]. In some use cases, zero-carbon tailpipe emissions powertrains based on fuel cells or hydrogen-fuelled internal combustion engines can be viable solutions [3].…”