The hydrogen fuel cell sector has caught the automotive limelight recently, notably Toyota's announcement of making thousands of hydrogen fuel cell patents available on a royalty free basis. Does this mean affordable fuel cell vehicles (FCEVs) could be on our driveways anytime soon? Matthew Beecham talked to James Batchelor of independent fuel cell specialist Intelligent Energy about the obstacles still to be overcome.
Why would an automotive OEM develop FCEVs in preference to battery electric vehicles (EVs)? Surely it makes more sense to use electricity to charge a battery, rather than power the electrolysis of water to create hydrogen for use in fuel cells?
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Battery technology is more mature than fuel cell technology but has still not progressed to a sufficient level to satisfy consumer concerns over vehicle range, battery cost and recharging time. A fuel cell powered EV has up to four times the range of a typical battery EV and can be refuelled as quickly as a petrol or diesel vehicle. You can think of an FCEV as a superior form of EV that uses a fuel cell instead of a battery pack or a combustion engine to power the vehicle, so it overcomes the tailpipe emissions of combustion engines and the range anxiety of a battery EV.
Regarding hydrogen creation, there is already enough hydrogen produced industrially as a by-product of other processes to satisfy the near-term demand for fuel for FCEVs. As fuel cell popularity grows, and low or zero carbon methods of power generation become more widely established and used for hydrogen production, it will enable a genuinely zero-carbon form of transportation.
But where does a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle refuel?
Infrastructure plans are already in place in many markets, driven not only by ambitions for cleaner transport in the developed markets, but also by initiatives for widespread distributed power generation in the emerging markets. Because of the greater range of an FCEV, compared to a battery EV, refuelling stations do not need to be so close to each other which makes progressive introduction much more feasible.
In the early stages of adoption, before the infrastructure is fully mature, FCEVs are still highly relevant for fleet users such as freight companies or taxi services who can refuel on a return-to-depot basis. There are growing pressures to improve urban air quality and commercial operators may find access to city centres increasingly confined to vehicles that achieve zero tailpipe emissions. We already have a small fleet of FCEV London Taxis undergoing trials and it has been estimated that as few as 25-30 refilling points could meet the demands of all London's taxis.
What can you do to bring down the purchase cost of fuel cell vehicles?
As with most new technologies, unit cost is closely linked with manufacturing volume; we already have a joint venture with Suzuki that produces fuel cell stacks and systems for the automotive and other markets, demonstrating our expertise in designing for low-cost, high-volume applications. As sales of FCEVs increase, I am confident that the cost to the consumer will drop considerably.
The price gap to petrol or diesel vehicles is also likely to narrow as a result of concerns about air quality. The technologies that produce the most fuel-efficient engines with the lowest CO2 emissions are complex and increasingly expensive. As legislation tightens fuel cell vehicles will become a more economically attractive option.
Isn't your technology only really suited to low performance applications like range extenders?
Our technology is readily scalable; we have a twin stack system capability with 100kW continuous power rating for premium applications. Because an electric motor delivers maximum torque from zero rpm, that 100kW feels much more impressive than you would expect from a combustion engine of the same rating; it gives the launch feel of a big V8. That impressive launch feel can be carried on right through the speed range which means greener motoring with no need to sacrifice driving pleasure.
Toyota is claiming 114kW for a FCEV that is available this year. What's so special about the Intelligent Energy system?
We have developed proprietary, evaporatively cooled (EC) technology that removes the need for individual cooling channels between each cell, allowing the cells to be closer together and simplifying the peripheral componentry (the 'balance of plant') needed to complete the system. This confers a significant weight and package advantage compared to the liquid-cooled stacks currently available and sets a new standard for stack power density (3.5kW/l and 3.0kW/kg). When benchmarked against competitor stacks, we are both lighter and more compact for a given power output.
How does the vehicle benefit from these figures?
The remainder of this interview is available on just-auto's QUBE Global electric light vehicles market- forecasts to 2018
