Electric traction system for a supercapacitor-based electric vehicle

© 2013 IEEE. This work addresses the design of the electric traction system of an Electric Vehicle (EV) which uses supercapacitors as the only energy source. The aim of this work is to build a small EV prototype to research about the feasibility of using supercapacitor based EVs in the public transport of Mexico City. This project is sponsored by the Institute of Science and Technology of Mexico City. The vehicle uses rear traction based on a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (PMSM). A small size battery was used to power ancillary vehicle devices such as lights, instrument cluster and contactors of the energy distribution system. Simulation and experimental results are presented to validate the design of the traction system.