Maxwell ultracapacitor modules for transit bus

Voith and Maxwell have entered into a strategic supply agreement through which Maxwell is Voith's exclusive supplier of ultracapacitor modules assembled in the US to meet local content requirements.

Robert Wiss, Voith Turbo's vice-president, Road Division for the US market, said: 'Our parallel hybrid-drive transmission system, DIWAhybrid, enables transit buses to improve fuel economy by as much as 35 per cent compared with standard diesel buses.' David Schramm, Maxwell's president and chief executive officer, said: 'Our HTM125 heavy transportation module is the result of extensive work with Voith and other leading heavy transportation OEMs to develop a robust multi-cell module to withstand the harsh environments and repetitive cycling that are typical for buses and electric-rail vehicles.

He added: 'The HTM125 meets transportation-industry requirements for watt hours of energy storage and watts of power delivery per kilogram, and is designed to perform reliably through one million or more deep discharge cycles, or about 10 years of operational life for most vehicles.' The HTM125 is encased in a rugged, splash-proof, IP 65-compliant aluminum chassis, weighs less than 60kg and measures 315 x 425 x 744mm.

Integrated monitoring capabilities and a highly efficient cooling configuration enable it to sustain continuous current of up to 150A with minimal temperature increase in high-temperature environments.

Its modular design makes it a versatile building block to satisfy various application requirements and up to 12 modules may be linked in series to deliver a total of as much as 1,500V.

Maxwell also offers a complete line of standard 15 to 75V multi-cell modules.