Special Issue "Hybrid Battery Energy Storage System"

Electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming increasingly popular with a market share of nearly 10%. In an effort to decarbonize transport, in the UK, the sale of new petrol and diesel cars will be banned by 2030, with a mandate that all new cars and vans are to have zero emissions across the UK and the European Union by 2035.

To maximize the decarbonising effect of the move toward EVs, the electricity used to charge them must be low on carbon. However, with an increased penetration of renewable generations technologies, such as solar or wind, subsequent installation of these technologies can come with challenges in terms of the maintenance of grid stability due to the variability in renewable generation and the difficulty of matching supply and demand.

Meeting these challenges for both EV and grid applications energy storage is essential. However, meeting the contradictory requirements of both high power density and high energy density, in addition to both short-term and long-term seasonal storage at an economic cost, remains a challenge for academia and industry.  

Hybrid energy storage systems take advantage of properties of different technologies to improve the performance, longevity, or cost of an energy storage project when compared to using a single storage technology. Such systems are often used in electric vehicles, with a bulk energy store with high specific energy, such as li-ion, combined with a high-power technology that reacts quickly, such as supercapacitors. This allows the vehicle to store energy, deliver and absorb power at a high rate during harsh acceleration and braking while also maintaining a reasonable range without having to oversize the battery. Additionally, increasingly, hybrid energy stores using both li-ion and lead-acid, for example, are being used to facilitate the installation of renewable energy generation.

In this regard, we invite you to submit research and review articles to this Special Issue on hybrid energy storage including electrical, electrochemical (batteries and fuel cells), mechanical (e.g., flywheels, compressed air or hydro), and thermal components covering fundamental physics or chemistry, modelling, system sizing optimisation, economics, energy management, dispatch optimisation, control, AI, power electronic interfaces, recycling, applications, engineering, practical field operational experience.

For more information and to submit your manuscript, please visit the mdpi page for the special issue.