Stop-Start Being Deployed in a Million Cars

By Rona Fried, Ph.D. In October, Maxwell Technologies (Nasdaq: MXWL) announced it had begun volume deliveries of Boostcap ultracapacitors to Continental AG to be incorporated into their new stop-start system for Peugeot-Citroën diesel passenger cars. Stop-Start is here! Peugeot-Citroen plans to sell about a million cars equipped with this technology over the next three years. Why is stop-start important? Because it’s a very inexpensive way to significantly reduce emissions and increase gas mileage in conventional vehicles. The technology comes standard in hybrids – it’s now being adapted to work in all vehicles. It could be standard equipment for all new cars by 2020. Stop-Start systems eliminate idling. When you put your foot on the brake to stop a car, the system turns the engine off. When your foot touches the accelerator, the engine starts again. This simple technology reduces gas consumption by 10% in average city/highway driving to almost 20% in congested city traffic. Although various energy storage technologies are being developed for advanced vehicles, Stop-Start systems are widely viewed as an affordable, effective technology that’s available now, and will therefore be one of the first to gain mass acceptance for all vehicles. That’s important because although advanced vehicles – […]

Read More