RAJESH AGRAWAL

MECHANICAL 3RD YEAR

1022340040

Hydrogen Fuel Cell

Vehicles
Relevancy of Topic
 As fuel prices continue to rise we’ll likely see this topic get more and more attention

“Green” vehicle as the only by products of the fuel cell are water, and heat

Hydrogen is an abundant, clean, renewable energy source

Introduction

The car of the future is here today. Of course, you can't buy one yet; but if you live
in California you can lease one. It doesn't use gasoline and it doesn't pollute the air.
In fact, it produces steam instead of exhaust. So what's the mystery fuel? Hydrogen
-- the simplest and most abundant element in the universe. And some people think
that in 20 to 30 years, we'll all be driving these hydrogen-powered, fuel-efficient
vehicles.

Although hydrogen-powered cars have a science fiction quality to them, the idea
isn't really new. Actually, the technology for using hydrogen to generate power has
been around since the first part of the 19th century -- that's longer than cars have
been around. What's new is that you might actually see a hydrogen-powered car on
the road, with steam coming out of its exhaust pipe instead of foul-smelling gases.
Several hydrogen cars are now in existence, but most of them are concept cars.
These eco-friendly driving machines include the Chevrolet Equinox, the BMW
745h and the one that's currently available for lease in California, the Honda FCX.

What makes a hydrogen car possible is a device called a fuel cell which converts
hydrogen to electricity, giving off only heat and water as byproducts. Because it's
non-polluting, hydrogen seems like the ideal fuel for the 21st century. A lot of
people in the government and the auto industry are excited about its potential.
Hydrogen cars have the potential to be fuel-efficient and offer the hope of eco-
friendly, green driving. But there are still a lot of problems that need to be
overcome and questions that need to be answered before hydrogen becomes the
fuel of choice for enough people to make much difference in our current use of
fossil fuels. For instance, where will we get the hydrogen? How expensive will
these fuel-efficient cars be to purchase? Will you be able to find a hydrogen
fuelling station to refill your tank? And, perhaps most importantly, as a fuel, is
hydrogen really as non-polluting as it seems?

We'll look at those questions in the pages that follow, but we can give you one
quick answer right now: Unless you happen to live in very specific parts of the
country and have pockets lined with cash, don't expect a hydrogen car in your
driveway within the next decade.

FCVs look like conventional vehicles from the outside, but inside they contain
technologically advanced components not found on today's vehicles. The most
obvious difference is the fuel cell stack that converts hydrogen gas stored onboard
with oxygen from the air into electricity to drive the electric motor that propels the
vehicle.

Alternate Fuel Vehicles

 Types of Hydrogen Cars

Two main types of hydrogen cars

Cars that use hydrogen in an internal combustion engine

Cars that use hydrogen to generate electricity in a fuel cell

Alternative Fuel Vehicles

Internal Combustion Hydrogen

 Slightly modified form of internal combustion engine

 Burns hydrogen, produces pure water exhaust

 Hydrogen Fuel Cells

Fuel cells invented in 1838 by Swiss scientist Christian Friedrich Schönbein

Aspects of engines as well as batteries

No pollution emitted

PEM FCs ideal for light-duty vehicles, buildings & much smaller
applications
 Hydrogen Internal Combustion
Engines (HICE)

 This is a regular internal combustion engine that burns hydrogen instead of

gasoline

 HICEs can be either cylinder or rotary engines

 There are different ways to supply hydrogen to the engine

Hydrogen Fuel Cells

Fuel cells are similar to batteries, but designed for continuous replenishment
of energy via external fuel

Hydrogen and oxygen in, water vapor and liquid water out

Fuel Cell Stacks

In order to produce enough voltage, cells are grouped into about 45 stacks

Hydrogen is stored and injected in either liquid or gas form

Many cells, but only output is still liquid and vapor water

Procedure
Conceptually, at least, a fuel cell is simply a device that takes in oxygen from the
air and hydrogen from a tank, and reacts them in a controlled way to produce water
vapour and electric power. In a vehicle, that power can then be directed through an
ordinary electric motor to turn the wheels.

Storage & Efficiency

Two storage options

1. Produce the hydrogen on the ground and then store it onboard the
vehicle ( direct hydrogen option)

2. Produce the hydrogen on the vehicle by means of a tiny onboard

hydrogen plant (onboard fuel processor option)

Hydrogen vehicle 2 times as efficient as internal combustion

 Internal combustion efficiency – 15-25%

 Hydrogen – 50-60%

Applications of Fuel Cell Technology

Cars
Buses

Space Travel & Exploration

Airplanes

Submarines

Off-grid Power Supply

Combined Heat & Power

Hydrogen Fuel Cell History

 Sir William Grove, England 1839

 Dr. Francis Thomas Bacon, England 1932

 Harry Karl Ihrig, United States 1959

 During the 1960s, NASA looked at fuel cells for space

 Interest in fuel cells grows during the 1970s oil embargos

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle Issues

Storage is complicated

Limited range

Expensive fuel

Energy carrier, not energy source

Hydrogen SOURCES
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle Infrastructure
The Hydrogen Highway

World’s first hydrogen refueling station opened in Iceland in 2003

Currently used by Honda Clarity and Ford Model U

Environment
Emissions free

There are costs associated with environmental damage

ADVANTAGES

Hydrogen is only substitute for foreign oil within a decade

 Clean, twice as efficient as internal combustion, and sufficiently available

Used in space crafts

Currently several times more expensive but will be reasonable for its
efficiency

Green vehicle

Only byproducts of the fuel cell are electricity, water, and heat

Fuel cell and electric motor are highly efficient

Hydrogen is an abundant, clean, renewable energy source

Scope

Automakers are showing new interest because key problems with fuel cell—their
limited capacity to convert hydrogen to electricity and their susceptibility to
freezing—have largely been overcome in recent years. At the same time, the first
mass-produced electric vehicles based on batteries—the fuel cell's technological
rival for the zero-emissions mantle—has seen sales slow because their range
remains disappointing and their prices high.
By the mid-2000s, the dream of hydrogen-powered cars had faded in the face of
stubborn practicalities like the lack of charging stations and the inefficiency of fuel
cells. But as the auto industry wrestles with the limitations of battery-powered
electric vehicles, the dream lives on. That is apparent at the Paris Auto Show.

When the show opened last month, battery-driven electric vehicles stood front and
center. but hydrogen-fuel-cell vehicles were also omnipresent. Show visitors could
test-drive seven fuel-cell cars from leading automakers (including an SUV that
Hyundai plans to begin leasing this winter), and a bevy of snazzy concept cars
conjured up visions of a hydrogen-fueled future.

Even Nissan, which leads the global electric-vehicle market with its Leaf
subcompact and has vowed to sell 1.5 million battery-powered vehicles by 2016
with corporate partner Renault, is showing a powerful fuel-cell SUV as a concept
car in Paris. The company's strategy reflects widely held views in the automotive
industry, according to consultancy KPMG. Of the 200 executives polled in its 2012
those predicting that electric-car buyers of 2025 will prefer a fuel cell outnumbered
those backing battery technology by 25 percent.

"Automakers believe in the capability of the fuel-cell vehicle," says Kevin See, a
senior analyst for Boston-based consultancy Lax Research. "There are no issues
with range anxiety, making it a zero-emission option with the requisite
performance to serve a broader consumer base."

The fuel-cell cars at the Paris show deliver many times the Nissan Leaf's 73-mile
EPA-rated range. Hydrogen gas crammed into a carbon-fiber tank at 700-bar
pressure—the current industry standard—can take Hyundai's ix35 fuel-cell EV 365
miles. And Toyota boasts 435 miles of driving for its FCV-R fuel-cell EV concept
sedan.

Nissan has not posted a range estimate for its TeRRA fuel-cell concept SUV. But
in the face of public complaints from Leaf buyers disappointed by deteriorating
mileage, it's easy to see why fuel-cell technology would appeal.

Although it's still a long shot, the idea that FCEVs could one day replace
conventional gasoline cars seems more likely today than ever before.

Department of Energy research has helped drive down the cost of automotive fuel
cell by 80 percent. Result of a national FCEV demonstration found that, although
less than the range on a tank of gasoline, the range on a tank of hydrogen has
consistently increased, and now thousands of cars are being prepared to hit the
market.

After decades of testing, automakers are expected to put 50,000 hydrogen fuel cell
vehicles on the roads in California by 2017, according to Dunwoody.

Mercedes has said it plans to release a mass-produced FCEV in 2014 and will
launch a hydrogen-powered SUV or large sedan in the coming years. Honda global
CEO Takanobu Ito said last week that Honda considers the FCEV "the ultimate
environmentally responsible vehicle" and will launch an all-new fuel cell electric
model in Japan, followed by the United States and Europe starting in 2015.
 India’s prospect

Delhi’s hydrogen auto rickshaws are the result of a three-year project involving a
bevy of partners, including the U.N. development agency, which funded half of the
more than $1 million cost. In-kind contributions came from partners including the
Indian automaker Mahindra, which supplied the auto rickshaws, and Air Products,
an energy company based in Pennsylvania that provided a hydrogen re-fueling
station at the expo center and technical expertise.

Outcomes

Not everyone is persuaded by such arguments. Even if car manufacturers do get

their fuel-cell vehicles to market by 2015, it will take years to establish a customer
base, increase production and bring down costs. Few firms anticipate profitability
on these vehicles until 2020 or even 2025. Meanwhile, they and the energy
companies are also pushing biofuels and battery-powered electric cars, each of
which would require its own distribution system. Building these transportation
infrastructures simultaneously might not be possible.

These concerns are felt even within the car industry. Ford, for example, is
confining its fuel-cell activities to long-term research, and has no current plans to
market a commercial hydrogen vehicle. And its bets with research into an
otherwise conventional car whose internal combustion engine can burn petrol or
hydrogen.
 INDEX

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

http://www.nrel.gov/hydrogen/proj_production_delivery.html

DoE Alternative Fuels Data Center http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/laws/epact_2005.html

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Realm http://www.geocities.com/aardduck/fc_basic.html

Wired Magazine – How Hydrogen Can Save America

Bosselman et al., Energy, Economics and the Environment

FuelCellWorks.com

Cnn.com, Wikipedia

THANK YOU