Application of Electric Motor, Supercapacitor, and Wireless Power Transfer to enhance operation of future vehicles

Future electric vehicles (EVs) will be linked to the electric power system infrastructure; the vehicles will operate through frequent electric charging, as is the case with electric trains. Conventional batteries require a long recharging time; therefore, supercapacitors, rather than batteries, will play an important role in the future for charging of EVs. Supercapacitors have a long operating life, large current density, and environmentally friendly composition. Further, their energy level can be estimated from their terminal voltage. Because EVs powered by supercapacitors can operate for more than 20 min after being charged for only 30 s, the requirement for constant recharging of EVs is reduced substantially, thereby increasing the efficiency of these EVs. Wireless power transfer based on magnetic resonance is an extremely important technique that needs to be considered for enhancing the efficiency of EVs. In a laboratory experiment, this technique enabled power transfer with more than 95% efficiency at a distance of more than 50 cm. We can achieve a large-scale development of future vehicles that employ three techniques: Electric Motors, Supercapacitors, and Wireless Power Transfer.