Webasto, the Munich-based sunroof and vehicle heater specialist, plans to introduce an auxiliary power generation unit based on a fuel cell for truck applications from 2008.
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The company showed its auxiliary power unit (APU) concept publicly for the first time at the Geneva auto show. The objective of the development was to create a unit that would supplement onboard electrical power supply independently of the main engine.
The APU is designed for the growing number of comfort functions and trucks that require electrical power. The new unit will make it possible to run features – such as an auxiliary air conditioning system – without using the main engine, say Webasto.
Webasto is a market leader in cabin heaters in Europe but it has found the uptake to be slow in North America.
“Long haul trucks have huge cabins and the drivers need some comfort to run the TV and other electrical devices” said a Dr Michael Stelter, of Webasto Thermal Systems “but currently they just idle the main engine”.
But “the electrical efficiency of a huge truck engine idling is not very good”. Idling is noisy and puts a lot of wear on the engines. “We provide them a solution that is silent and can run all their electrical devices” said Stelter. The payback period for the device in series production is expected to be two or three years, just on the diesel savings alone, said Stelter.
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By GlobalDataWebasto had commercial vehicle heater sales worth over €30 million in 2003, and car heater sales of almost €130 million. The privately owned German supplier had sales of €1.36 billion in 2003, the last year for which figures are available. Webasto also sees a market for fuel cells in cars in the longer term.
Parts sharing will make Webasto more competitive
Webasto has been developing the fuel stack for the auxiliary power unit with the German company HC Starck, a subsidiary of Bayer, and the Fraunhofer Institute. The consortium has a 25-strong development team based in Neubrandenburg.
The fuel processor consists of a reformer that transforms diesel into hydrogen-rich gas that is then directed into the fuel cell. The second part of the processor is an afterburner, which burns off the gas coming from the fuel cell.
The power output of Webasto’s a prototype APU unit is 1 kW and the company says that the power range for series production applications will be 500 W – 30 kW.
The unit can provide heat during the winter and cooling during the summer and replaces the need for a parking heater, said Stelter. “Depending on integration level the APU gas can additionally be used to improving the combustion process in the vehicle’s engine and for optimising exhaust characteristics,” said Stelter.
The technical and price targets of the development and also the timeline are comparable to the North American Solid-State Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA) funded by the US Department of Energy. SECA’s Industrial Team consist of Acumentrics, Delphi, FuelCell Energy, General Electric, and Siemens Westinghouse.
The technology itself, technical targets, price targets and also the time line is very much comparable to the North American SECA Programme said Stelter. However the German group has sacrificed the high power densities that the SECA is aiming for to ensure the system’s practicality. The fuel uses diesel that is already commercially available and the system can easily be switched on and off.
To keep costs down, Webasto’s planned product will use the same sheet metal technology, laser welding, and even heater components that the group uses for its existing diesel powered cabin heaters.
“We have a lot of technology we do not have to reinvent,” said Stelter.
– SupplierBusiness.com
