Reducing energy waste by increasing autonomy: supercapacitors

Carer continues to work towards greater operating autonomy for its electric forklifts. The latest innovation is the use of supercapacitors, which are able to support the main battery.

The most common concern with electric forklifts is to have an adequate energy autonomy to support even long working shifts. For this reason, Carer has been committed to finding energy efficient solutions to support the productivity of every facility and to ensure that even electric forklifts can achieve enviable results in moving.

The latest innovation time-wise is the use of the supercapacitor, an energy accumulator that functions almost like a sort of auxiliary battery, increasing the autonomy of the forklift by reducing waste.

Due to their chemical properties, supercapacitors charge and discharge very quickly. In this way, they can support batteries during times of greater stress or during the transients that occur throughout the various operating phases of the machine.

Therefore, during the acceleration phase, the energy peak is taken directly from the supercapacitor, ensuring energy savings at the most consuming time. At the same time, in the regeneration peaks (braking and deceleration), the supercapacitor can recover energy extremely quickly compared to a traditional battery.

What are the advantages? Attenuating the various peaks of current to and from the battery will cause it to be subject to less mechanical and thermal stress. This increases not only the autonomy but also the life of the battery. An example? In the graph, the blue line shows the trend for the machine current with a standard battery while the red line shows the trend for the machine current with a battery plus supercapacitors. Note how the various peaks of current (red line) are rounded thanks to the introduction of the supercapacitors.

Are you interested in Carer electric forklifts and solutions for energy savings and equipment autonomy? Contact us by writing to info@carerforklift.com or calling the number +39 0545 193 80 10.