The first objective of the HYBUS project is to integrate a supercapacitor storage system in a trolleybus in order to ensure the continuity of onboard electrical systems supply. The aim is to integrate an energy storage system, composed by a huge number of supercapacitors, for the recovery of the braking energy of trolleybus and allow autonomy for several meters. Our work concerns the study of the lifetime of the storage system. Several accelerated aging tests on supercapacitors were developed in the AMPERE aboratory. These tests have shown that as far as ageing are concerned; the cycling is the major responsible. However, these changes are partially reversible during the rest time when regeneration phenomena are observed. A method based on the observed damage during cycling and the damage after regeneration, leads to a formal equation for the evolution of internal parameters of supercapacitors. An endurance test of complete storage systems was also performed in the laboratory. Experimental results show the heterogeneity of aging due to the existence of significant temperature gradients between components. As a result, a new balancing strategy to equalize the lifetime of each supercapacitors has been developed. In conclusion, our study has contributed to a better comprehension and evaluation of supercapacitors aging in order to improve the lifetime of this type of energy storage system. A method for the estimation of the supercapacitor lifetime has been also proposed.
