Zero-emission ultracapacitor minibus gets US debut
Sinautec Automobile Technologies plan to demonstrate the US’s first ultracapacitor electric minibus next month at American University’s Washington, DC, campus.
During the demonstration, scheduled for 21 October, Sinautec will unveil an 11-seat minibus that’s 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, CEO of Sinautec.
Unlike battery-powered vehicles, he said, ultracapacitor vehicles can be charged within minutes, and could deliver significant benefits for municipal and campus transportation, shuttle services, tourism and recreation.
With offices in Beijing, Arlington, Virginia, and Washington, DC, Sinautec develops high-energy-density ultracapacitors for 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.
“It is our goal to contribute to the Obama Administration’s efforts to improve the environment and to reduce America’s reliance on foreign oil,” Ye said.
Sinautec is currently working with several major research universities to develop the next generation of nano-scale ultracapacitors.
