Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles

Due to the restrictions of Battery Electric Vehicles with regard to range, weight, charging time and vehicle size. Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles will have to contribute significantly to reach the emissions targets. 

Hyundai (2011) Hyundai Unveils Tucson IX Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle, http //www.hyundaiusa.com/ about-hyundai/news/CorporateTucsonHx FCEV Rdease-20110214Mspx (last accessed 29 April 2011). 

Hyundai introduced its new i-Blue Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle. The i-Blue platform incorporates Hyundai s third-generation fuel cell technology and is powered by a 100-kW electrical engine and fuel cell stack. It is fueled with compressed hydrogen at 700 bar stored in a 115 liter tank. The i-Blue is capable of running more than 600-km per refueling stop and has a maximum speed of 165-km/h. 

Fuel cells can also be used for other purposes. Think about the energy used by a car or other transportation vehicles. Fuel cells could be an excellent source of electrical energy for the cars and buses of the future. In fact, some researchers think that if hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles become common, they will cost less than half of what gasoline powered-vehicles cost today. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will also be easier to take care of because there will be fewer parts to repair or replace. 

Figure 4.3. Placement of fuel cells, hydrogen tank and auxiliary equipment in the DaimlerChrysIer prototype car Necar 4. (Based on G. Friedlmeier, J. Friedrich, F. Panik (2001). Test experiences with the DaimlerChrysIer fuel cell electric vehicle NECAR 4. Fuel Cells 1,92-96, Used by permission from Wiley.)...

Every major automaker must be willing to subsidize the development and early deployment phase of new technology introduction, but fiscal responsibility requires that there be some promise of a positive return in the future. In the specific examples discussed here, Chrysler lost money on CNG, M85, E85, and BEVs, with no prospect of ever recouping those investments. This is a pattern that no manufacturer can afford to continue indefinitely. The lessons learned from this experience, however, can reap enormous economic benefits as DaimlerChrysler prepares to commercialize clean diesel, hybrid electric, and hydrogen powered fuel cell electric vehicles. 

DC machines are simpler and cheaper, because their speed regulation is based on scalar controls. For that reason they need simple electronic boards to control the DC electric drive operations. Moreover, they have the advantage that they can be fed by the DC supply already on board. On the other hand, the principal disadvantage is represented by the maintenance required, since for instance brushes need to be periodically checked and changed. Another point to take in consideration is that fuel cell electric vehicles equipped with brushed electric machines would require specific safety devices to avoid that sparks of the collector during the commutation might interact with the hydrogen used as fuel on board. 

Supplied tanks for H3umdai Santa Fe fuel cell electric vehicle, the first to fill to 5,000 psi hydrogen... 

Figure 1.3 Hydrogen supply options and major uses. PV, photovoltaic (cells) ICEs, internal combustion engines IT, information technology FCVs, fuel cell (electric) vehicles ICEVs, internal-combustion-engined vehicles. (Courtesy of International Energy Agency Clean Coal Centre).

A project has started in 1996 to develop and install a 12 - 15 kW SPFC into a Peugeot minivan equipped with a special tank to store hydrogen at 70 MPa [12]. In the project FEVER (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle for Efficiency and Range), Renault pursues a car design with a 30 kW PEM fuel cell and a 120 1 LH2 tank to allow a 500 km cruising range [59]. In both projects, the goal is to start test operation in 1997. 

Encapsulation of metals within nanotubes may be of interest, especially if the metal is ferromagnetic (e.g. data storage devices and stiffer STM tips). Investigation on nanotubes and related fullerene-like structures for hydrogen storage is a necessary precursor to the development of fuel-cell electric vehicles [49]. 

Thomas C E (2009a),Transportation options in a carbon constrained world Hybrids, plug-in hybrids, biofuels, fuel cell electric vehicles, and battery electric vehicles. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 34,9279-9296. 

Finally, market success is not only a technological issue, but also depends on customer acceptance. This can only be achieved if customers feel comfortable and safe driving fuel cell electric vehicles and retain to their individual mobility without spending a fortune. If this can be achieved, hydrogen fuel cells will become an important item in future propulsion systems. 

On a regional level, more than 30 European regions and cities aim to achieve sufficient critical mass in the industrial sector involved in the development and market introduction of battery and fuel-cell electric vehicles. At the same time, 13 initiatives and competency networks in Germany have joined forces in order to bring partners from industry and research together and thus drive fuel-ceU and hydrogen technology forward with coordinated research, development, demonstration, and market introduction. 

It is difficult to be at all quantitative as to when and to what degree these various possible applications will come to pass. Among the many factors which will determine the future energy scene are technical factors (advances in fuel cells, electric vehicles, electrolyzers, LH2 fuelled aircraft, etc.), environment factors (SO2 emissions, mining of fossil fuels, etc.) and, of course, the ubiquitous economics and politics which control all major human activities. What does seem clear is that, in the early years, synthetic fluid fuels will be manufactured by steam reforming, both for economic reasons and for institutional reasons associated with the expertise of the petroleum and gas industries. Electrolytic hydrogen will enter upon the scene more slowly, as it will be dependent upon the availability of cheap or surplus electricity and will tend to be produced by the chemical industry or electricity utilities rather than by the fuel industries. Moreover, its first use is likely to be for chemical synthesis, rather than as a fuel. 

From the mid-1960s onwards. General Motors and Shell experimented with hydrogen fuel cells and direct methanol fuel cells for vehicle applications. By the mid-1970s, other vehicle manufacturers in Germany, Japan, and the United States launched programs to develop fuel cell electric vehicles. In 1983, the Canadian company Ballard, located first in North Vancouver and nowadays at the Fraser River in... 

P. Jung, Technical and economic assessment of hydrogen and methanol powered fuel cell electric vehicles, Master Thesis, Chalmers University of Technology, January 1999... 

Finally, the best alternatives in the near term for fuel cell electric vehicles include light naphtha or alkylate refinery streams liquid hydrocarbons derived from natural gas or as production, storage, and distribution systems develop, hydrogen. 

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