Empowering New Energy Vehicles! An Analysis of Supercapacitors' Application Scenarios and Core Value

In the wave of new energy vehicles evolving towards higher efficiency, safety, and low carbonization, the energy storage system, as a core component, directly determines the vehicle's dynamic performance, driving range, and safety level. The traditional single lithium battery energy storage solution has gradually exposed shortcomings in instantaneous power output, low-temperature adaptability, and cycle life, making it difficult to meet the stringent requirements of new energy vehicles in scenarios such as rapid acceleration, braking energy recovery, and driving in extreme environments. As a new type of energy storage device, supercapacitors, with their unique advantages of physical energy storage, form a "complementary advantage" with lithium batteries, and their applications in the new energy vehicle field are becoming increasingly widespread. From urban public transport and special vehicles to high-performance supercars, they have gradually become a key support for improving the comprehensive performance of vehicles. Among them, Tsingyane Electronics, as a high-tech enterprise focusing on the R&D and production of supercapacitors, relies on its independent core technologies to provide high-reliability and high-adaptability supercapacitor products for new energy vehicle scenarios, promoting their large-scale application.

There is an essential difference between the energy storage mechanisms of supercapacitors and traditional lithium batteries: lithium batteries store electrical energy through the chemical reaction of lithium ion intercalation and deintercalation, focusing on long-term energy supply, with high energy density but slow charging and discharging speed and limited cycle life. In contrast, supercapacitors achieve physical energy storage through the double-layer effect or pseudocapacitive effect, without complex chemical reactions. They have core advantages such as millisecond-level response speed, million-level cycle life, and wide temperature adaptability, which exactly make up for the performance shortcomings of lithium batteries. In new energy vehicles, the two work synergistically: lithium batteries provide the energy required for continuous driving range, while supercapacitors undertake tasks such as instantaneous power output and braking energy recovery, building a dual energy storage system of "energy + power" to comprehensively improve vehicle performance and reduce the full-life cycle cost of the energy storage system.

Core Application Scenario 1: Braking Energy Recovery, Improving Energy Efficiency and Extending Driving Range

During the operation of new energy vehicles, a large amount of kinetic energy is generated during braking. In traditional fuel vehicles, most of this kinetic energy is wasted in the form of heat, while new energy vehicles can realize the recovery and reuse of kinetic energy with the help of energy storage systems, which is also a key way to improve the driving range. Lithium batteries have a slow charging and discharging speed, making it difficult to quickly absorb the instantaneous large current generated during braking, with a recovery efficiency usually less than 40%. In contrast, supercapacitors, with their high power density (up to about 10kW/kg) and millisecond-level response speed, can efficiently capture the instantaneous kinetic energy during braking, with a recovery efficiency of more than 70%, and even exceed 85% in some scenarios.

In practical applications, when the vehicle brakes or decelerates, the drive motor works in reverse as a generator, and the generated instantaneous large current is quickly absorbed and stored by the supercapacitors; when the vehicle starts or accelerates again, the supercapacitors instantly release the stored electrical energy, assisting the lithium battery to provide power support for the drive motor, reducing the load on the lithium battery and the high-frequency charging and discharging loss of the lithium battery. This application scenario is particularly important in models with frequent start-stop, such as urban public transport and online ride-hailing vehicles, which can increase the vehicle's driving range by 10%-15%, while reducing the attenuation speed of lithium batteries and extending the service life of the energy storage system. Targeting the braking recovery scenario of new energy vehicles, Tsingyane Electronics has optimized the electrode materials and electrolyte formula of supercapacitors, further improving the energy recovery efficiency, adapting to the braking characteristics of different models, and achieving maximum energy efficiency.

Core Application Scenario 2: Instantaneous Power Supplement, Enhancing Dynamic Performance

In scenarios such as rapid acceleration, climbing, and overtaking, new energy vehicles need to burst out high power instantaneously. At this time, the power output capacity of lithium batteries is limited. If only relying on lithium batteries for power supply, it will not only lead to delayed dynamic response but also accelerate the aging of lithium batteries, affecting their service life. With its ultra-high instantaneous power output capacity, supercapacitors can quickly release electrical energy in these scenarios, providing additional power support for the drive motor, realizing "instant energy supplement", and greatly improving the vehicle's dynamic response speed and acceleration performance.

For example, high-performance hybrid supercars adopt a hybrid energy storage architecture of supercapacitors and lithium batteries. Supercapacitors can release high power instantly at the start, shortening the vehicle's 0-100km/h acceleration time by 1-2 seconds, while avoiding damage to lithium batteries due to instantaneous high-load output; in the climbing scenario of heavy-duty new energy trucks, the instantaneous power supplement of supercapacitors can effectively alleviate the load pressure on lithium batteries, prevent insufficient vehicle power, and improve driving safety. In addition, the fast charging and discharging characteristics of supercapacitors can also alleviate the "charging anxiety" of new energy vehicles. After some models are equipped with supercapacitors, they can achieve rapid energy supplement in 3-5 minutes, meeting the needs of short-distance emergency driving, especially suitable for fixed-route models such as urban public transport and park commuter vehicles.

Core Application Scenario 3: Low-Temperature Start Assistance, Solving the Pain Point of Extreme Environments

Low-temperature environments are the "natural enemy" of lithium batteries in new energy vehicles. When the temperature is below -10℃, the activity of lithium batteries will drop sharply, the capacity attenuation can reach more than 50%, and even failure to start or charge/discharge may occur, which is also the main bottleneck for the popularization of new energy vehicles in northern regions. However, supercapacitors have excellent wide-temperature adaptability, can work stably in the temperature range of -40℃ to 65℃, with a performance attenuation of less than 10% in low-temperature environments, which can effectively solve the problem of low-temperature start-up of new energy vehicles.

In low-temperature scenarios, supercapacitors can be used as auxiliary start-up power sources. When the vehicle starts, they quickly release electrical energy to preheat the lithium battery and provide stable power support for the start-up system, ensuring that the vehicle starts successfully at one time in extremely cold environments. For example, new energy logistics vehicles and special vehicles in northern regions, after being equipped with the supercapacitor start-up auxiliary system, can still achieve a 100% start-up success rate even in extremely cold weather of -30℃, greatly improving the environmental adaptability of the vehicle. In addition, supercapacitors do not require additional temperature control systems in low-temperature environments, which can reduce vehicle energy consumption and the maintenance cost of the energy storage system, adapting to the use needs of cold northern regions.

Core Application Scenario 4: Power Supply for On-Board Auxiliary Systems, Ensuring Stable Operation

The on-board auxiliary systems of new energy vehicles (such as steering systems, air conditioning systems, on-board entertainment systems, and brake assist systems) have high requirements for power supply stability. If voltage fluctuations or instantaneous power outages occur, it may lead to failures of auxiliary systems and affect driving safety. Lithium batteries are prone to voltage fluctuations during high-frequency charging and discharging, while supercapacitors have stable voltage output characteristics and can be used as auxiliary power sources to provide continuous and stable electrical energy support for on-board auxiliary systems, avoiding damage to the system caused by voltage fluctuations.

At the same time, supercapacitors can also be used as backup power sources. When the lithium battery fails or has an instantaneous power outage, they can quickly switch power supply to ensure the normal operation of core on-board auxiliary systems (such as brake assist and steering systems), gaining emergency handling time for the driver and improving driving safety. For example, the dashcams of some new energy vehicles are powered by supercapacitors, which can automatically save emergency videos when the vehicle is powered off, avoiding data loss, and at the same time eliminating the safety hazards of lithium battery bulging and spontaneous combustion under high-temperature exposure, further improving the vehicle's safety guarantee system.

Application Status and Future Outlook

At present, the application of supercapacitors in the new energy vehicle field has entered the large-scale stage, especially in scenarios such as urban public transport, special vehicles, and high-performance supercars, where the application is the most mature. In the field of urban public transport, a variety of supercapacitor buses have achieved commercial operation. They only need 30 seconds to 5 minutes of charging to meet the operation needs of 20-40 kilometers, the braking energy recovery efficiency is greatly improved, and the energy consumption is reduced by more than 30% compared with traditional fuel buses; in the field of special vehicles, mining machinery, low-temperature operation vehicles, etc., have significantly improved the operation stability in extreme environments by being equipped with supercapacitors; in the field of high-performance supercars, the application of supercapacitors has achieved a breakthrough in dynamic performance, becoming the core support for extreme performance.