Feasibility Analysis of a More Sustainable Urban E-Vehicle: Combining Compressed Air Storage with Supercapacitor

Nowadays, the electric and hybrid vehicles market is wide, however these technologies are still quite elitist due to high purchase prices. Essentially, the high costs are related to battery pack and to premium magnet motors: such components require materials whose supply is questionable both from environmental and social perspectives. This study is a feasibility analysis in which compressed air, supercapacitor and switched reluctance motors are combined to realize a more sustainable vehicle powertrain that is suitable for the urban context and for short-range travels. The results show that such a powertrain is practicable in terms of mass, volume and temperature.