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Ultracapacitor Bus Recharges At Each Stop

Posted by kdawson on from the fill-er-up-with-electrons dept.

TechReviewAl writes "A US company and its Chinese partner are piloting a bus powered by ultracapacitors in Washington DC. Ultracapacitors lack the capacity of regular batteries but are considerably cheaper and can be recharge completely in under a minute. Sinautec Automobile Technologies, based in Arlington, VA, and its Chinese partner, Shanghai Aowei Technology Development Company, have spent the past three years demonstrating the approach with 17 municipal buses on the outskirts of Shanghai. The executive director of Sinautec touts the energy efficiency of this approach: 'Even if you use the dirtiest coal plant on the planet [to charge an ultracapacitor], it generates a third of the carbon dioxide of diesel.'"

19 of 419 comments (clear)

  1. They must be powerful... by unkaggregate · · Score: 4, Funny

    the company name says it all!

    *ZAP* Aowei!

    Oh, first post!

  2. Next model by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    The next model will come with a flux supercapacitor, and will generate several sequels.

  3. No, thanks by willoughby · · Score: 4, Funny

    The cap's are under the seats?! Call me old fashioned (and it won't be the first time) but I'll take a cab, thank you.

    1. Re:No, thanks by santiago · · Score: 5, Funny

      The gasoline-filled tank is under the seats? Call me old fashioned (and it won't be the first time) but I'll take a pennyfarthing, thank you.

    2. Re:No, thanks by Tumbleweed · · Score: 5, Funny

      Springs and the support post are under the seat? Call me old fashioned (and it won't be the first time) but I'll take a horse, thank you.

    3. Re:No, thanks by Hadlock · · Score: 2, Funny

      Today's XKCD is extremely topical:
       
      http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/bag_check.png

      --
      moox. for a new generation.
    4. Re:No, thanks by zippthorne · · Score: 4, Funny

      Sharp vertebrae and powerful acids are under the seat? Call me old fashioned (and it won't be the first time) but I'll take a trusty pair of boots, thank you.

      --
      Can you be Even More Awesome?!
    5. Re:No, thanks by sincewhen · · Score: 4, Funny

      Sharp nails and powerful glues are under the feet? Call me old fashioned (and it won't be the first time) but I'll walk around naked, thank you.

      --
      -- Braden's law of data: All data spends some of its lifetime in an excel spreadsheet.
    6. Re:No, thanks by Ironchew · · Score: 4, Funny

      Sharp rocks and powerful scorpions are under the feet? Call me old fashioned (and it won't be the first time) but I'll be carried around on my royal litter, thank you.

    7. Re:No, thanks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Inherently unstable bipedal locomotion under the hip? Call me old fashioned (and it won't be the first time) but I'll stick to swinging around on vines, thank you.

    8. Re:No, thanks by ModernGeek · · Score: 4, Funny

      Reliance on arbor infrastructure to get around and possibility of falling to the ground? I'll stick to swimming underwater, thank you.

      --
      Sig: I stole this sig.
    9. Re:No, thanks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      way to fuk it up

    10. Re:No, thanks by Sasayaki · · Score: 5, Funny

      Limited stop options and the serious risk of drowning? Call me old fashioned (and it won't be the first time) but I'll take a Ultracapacitor Bus which recharges at each stop, thank you.

      --
      Check out my sci-fi book "Lacuna" at http://goo.gl/MVxX8
    11. Re:No, thanks by khallow · · Score: 2, Funny

      This motion thing sounds too complicated. I think I'll just stay in my shell and feed on plankton.

  4. I can see the design review meeting now... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Engineer: Sorry, the idea didn't pan out. The battery works, but it's got no capacity. Useless.

    Marketing Guy: What do you mean, no capacity? It can't be zero if it works, right?

    Engineer: Sure, but it gets drained in seconds by any sort of circuit.

    Marketing Guy: They recharge as fast as they drain, right?

    Engineer: Yeah, sure. but...

    Marketing Guy: "Recharges in under a minute". Nothing on the market can match it. When can we ship in volume?

  5. The Flux Supercapacitor by Cryacin · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is what makes bus travel POSSIBLE!!!

    --
    Science advances one funeral at a time- Max Planck
  6. Can't believe you didn't... by interkin3tic · · Score: 2, Funny

    In soviet russia, ultracapacitor bus recharges YOU!

  7. Re:been saying this for years by type40 · · Score: 2, Funny

    people said i was crazy when i talked about this a few years ago.

    To be fair, at the time you were suffering from massive head trauma due to that skee ball accident. You said a lot of things. Yes, you were right about the supper caps. The quantum phase shifting nuns, not so much.

    --
    "You can see I know very little about pimp policy." George McGovern.
  8. Re:Until... by mi · · Score: 2, Funny

    They have the monopoly among many others in the OPEC conglomerate.

    Libertine, do you know, what monopoly means? Hint: there can be no "many others"...

    --
    In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.