Innovations That Could Change the Way You Manufacture - Ultracapacitors: Have Batteries Met Their Match?

摘要

For years the manufacturing sector has relied on portable energy in the form of the battery and the internal combustion engine to supply energy to the vast array of different vehicles within a plant. These vehicles range from AGVs to worker-operated forklifts, with capabilities ranging from simple transport of parts to complex network-operated systems. This equipment has served industry well, but has some major power-system drawbacks. Today's vehicles are likely to be powered by a lead-acid battery. These battery packs suffer from an array of disabling problems that require complex charging systems and large amounts of precious plant-floor real estate, not to mention an overwhelming supply of spare batteries. A more recent development in the technology of power storage has created a buzz among researchers. While the advances throughout the years in battery science have been numerous, this advance is causing many engineers to think twice about specifying a battery in their system.