Benefits of Regenerative Braking for an Electric Superbike Using Energetic Macroscopic Representation

When it comes to electric vehicles, range anxiety is probably the single most important aspects consumers are concerned with. Regenerative braking is said to increase this number by recovering braking energy to the battery, but by how much? The methodology presented in this paper uses Energetic Macroscopic Representation (EMR) of the vehicle propulsion system, coupled with speed profiles from Optimum Lap® racetrack simulation software, to evaluate the potential gains regenerative braking can have on range. Results were obtained for racetracks and road use. The autonomy of the vehicle ranges from 30km in a race application to 112km on the road. In the use case studied, regenerative braking can improve rage from 4% to 14%. This method could be applied to any other type of electric road vehicle.