Ballard buses

Fig. 47. Scheme of the first-generation Ballard bus. The 120 kW power system seen at the back was based on 24 PEFC stacks of 5 kW each Compressed-hydrogen cylinders were placed under the bus floor. See text for more details. Reproduced by permission of Ballard Power Sources. 

Ballard Power Systems, in conjunction with the province of British Columbia and the government of Canada, have converted a diesel bus for Vancouver, B.C. Transit (43). This 9.1-m vehicle is powered by a 105-kW fuel cell. Gaseous hydrogen, stored on board the bus in DOT-approved glass-wound composite cylinders operating at 20.7 MPa (3000 psi), provides the necessary fuel requited for the 150-km projected vehicle range. 

NEBUS appeared in 1997 and showed the fuel cell downsizing done by Ballard. It has ten of the company s 25-kilowatt fuel cell stacks in its rear compartment. It is a functional city bus, with a comparable range. It is similar but not identical to the buses Ballard has put on the streets of Vancouver and Chicago. 

Recently, the major activity in transportation fuel cell development has focused on the polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC). In 1993, Ballard Power Systems (Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada) demonstrated a 10 m (32 foot) light-duty transit bus with a 120 kW fuel cell system, followed by a 200 kW, 12 meter (40 foot) heavy-duty transit bus in 1995 (26). These buses use no traction batteries. They operate on compressed hydrogen as the on-board fuel. In 1997, Ballard provided 205 kW (275 HP) PEFC units for a small fleet of hydrogen-fueled, full-size transit buses for demonstrations in Chicago, Illinois, and Vancouver, British Columbia. Working... 

World s 1st Fuel Cell Bus 1993 20-passenger 120 kW Ballard fuel cell engine, 160 km range. 

FIGURE 5.19 A zero-emission Mercedes Citaro bus operating in London, powered by a Ballard fuelcell engine. (Courtesy of Ballard Power Systems.)... 

High pressure hydrogen tanks run across the top of this bus provided by Ballard Power Systems for testing in Chicago. Water is produced at the anode. 

The initiatives taken by these companies would have been delayed except for the technical advances made by a single company, the importance of which became apparent only in the 1990s the Ballard Company of Vancouver, British Columbia, and research led by D. P. Wilkinson. German, Japanese, and finally U.S. automakers turned to this company (which had demonstrated a full-sized electrochemically powered bus in 1995) for the development of fuel cells for their cars. 

Figure 1.2. Ballard Power Systems fuel cell bus [10], (Image courtesy of Ballard Power...

Currently, the stationary power market penetration of the fuel cell is based on reduced local pollution rather than superior performance. Indeed the internationally demonstrated Ballard fuel cell bus generates more pollution from the power plant stack which generates its hydrogen supply from an inefficient incomplete electrolyser, than it saves by emitting steam from its exhaust. The industry has to rescue itself from this untenable position. 

United Technologies Fuel Cells is engaged in DMFC development, in competition with Ballard/Johnson Matthey. It is a part in the project by Renault to develop the Scenic vehicle fuel cell. Neither for its PEFC, nor for its DMFC (and MCFC), does UTC Fuel Cells offer product-coloured illustrations. Moreover, its literature or listed web site does not deal with the cell voltage reversal problem, mentioned in Ballard patents above in connection with fuel cell bus operation. Accordingly it is not possible for the author to portray the UTC Fuel Cells scheme of things. 

The worldwide fuel cell bus demonstrations based on electrolyser-generated hydrogen highlight the prowess of the Ballard PEFC, and simultaneously demonstrate its untenable long-term position. The pollution at the power plant stack supplying the electrolyser exceeds that removed by the pollution-free exhaust of the bus. 

The high torque electric motor develops more than 100-kW of motive power which is 35-kW more than the previous design for the A-class. The fuel cell is also more efficient. An enhanced hydrogen storage system gives the vehicle a range of 250 miles (400-kM). The Ballard fuel cells are expected to last at least 5,000 hours in a car and 10,000 hours in a bus. 

Ballard Power Systems rolled out the world s first PEM-fuel-cell bus at its facilities in Vancouver. 

In February 1994, Ballard announced plans for a 40-foot, 60-passenger, 275-horsepower commercial bus with a range of 250 miles and, further down the road, a 75-footer. Development of a 60-foot bus was underwritten by various Canadian government agencies and by the South Coast Air Quality Management District. Rolled out in 1995, the low-floor bus was built by New Flyer Industries of Winnipeg. 

Tested one fuel cell bus, the Ballard/XCELLSiS ZEbus, in the Palm Springs area. 

Clean energy systems have been realized such as the first zero emission fuel (ZEV) cell powered bus developed by Ballard Power Systems Inc., Canada. The company has designed in phase 1 (1991 - 1993) a 20 passenger transit bus driven by 24 PEFC stacks with 5 kW each. The bus was the world s first ZEV vehicle and has met its performance targets. Phase 2 of Ballard s ZEV Fuel Cell Bus finished in 1995 was based on a 60 passenger commercial prototype bus with a power of 260 kW. In a subsequent phase 3, small fleets of buses are to provide the basic data for a full conunercial production [64]. Within this phase, the city of Chicago has started in early 1997 a 3-years bus fleet testing... 

The Chula Vista Hydrogen Bus Project is to demonstrate zero-emission bus transportation. The buses are equipped with Ballard PEM fuel cells and fueled by compressed hydrogen with a range of 250 miles [24]. 

Cooper reported on development work by the former dbb Company aimed at developing a methanol-fiielled bus [581]. Two NECAR 3 fuel processors switched in parallel were coupled to six Ballard Mark 7 stacks resulting in 100 kW of net continuous power. A turn down ratio of 8 1 could be achieved. A two stage air compressor with heat and pressure energy recovery was used as the air supply. 

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