An Assessment Of The Status Of Fuel Cell Battery Vehicle Power Systems

An assessment of the status of the integrated fuel cell/battery power system concept for electric vehicle propulsion is reported. The fuel cell, operating on hydrogen or methanol (indirectly), acts as a very high capacity energy battery for vehicle sustaining operation, while a special power battery provides over-capacity transient power on demand, being recharged by the fuel cell, e.g., during cruising. A focused literature search and a set of industrial and Government contacts were carried out to establish views, outlooks, and general status concerning the concept. It is evident that, although vehicle battery R and D is being actively pursued, little of today's fuel cell work is directed to transportation usage. Only very limited attention has been, and is being, given to the fuel cell/battery power system concept itself. However, judging largely from computer-simulated driving cycle results, the concept can provide needed range capabilities and general operating flexibility to electric vehicles. New transportation applications, conventionally viewed as beyond the capability of electric vehicles, may thereby be practical, e.g., rail, trucks. In view of these potential and important benefits, and the absence of any comprehensive research, development, and demonstration activities which are supportive of the fuel cell/battery system concept, the initiation of an appropriate effort is recommended by the Assessment Team. This general recommendation is supported by applicable findings, observations, and conclusions.

Vehicular Electric Power Systems: Land, Sea, Air, and Space Vehicles acquaints professionals with trends and challenges in the development of more electric vehicles (MEVs) using detailed examples and comprehensive discussions of advanced MEV power system architectures, characteristics, and dynamics. The authors focus on real-world applications and highlight issues related to system stability as well as challenges faced during and after implementation. Probes innovations in the development of more electric vehicles for improved maintenance, support, endurance, safety, and cost-efficiency in automotive, aerospace, and marine vehicle engineering Heralding a new wave of advances in power system technology, Vehicular Electric Power Systems discusses: Different automotive power systems including conventional automobiles, more electric cars, heavy-duty vehicles, and electric and hybrid electric vehicles Electric and hybrid electric propulsion systems and control strategies Aerospace power systems including conventional and advanced aircraft, spacecraft, and the international space station Sea and undersea vehicles The modeling, real-time state estimation, and stability assessment of vehicular power systems Applications of fuel cells in various land, sea, air, and space vehicles Modeling techniques for energy storage devices including batteries, fuel cells, photovoltaic cells, and ultracapacitors Advanced power electronic converters and electric motor drives for vehicular applications Guidelines for the proper design of DC and AC distribution architectures

Review of the Research Program of the U.S. DRIVE Partnership: Fifth Report follows on four previous reviews of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership, which was the predecessor of the U.S. DRIVE Partnership. The U.S. DRIVE (Driving Research and Innovation for Vehicle Efficiency and Energy Sustainability) vision, according to the charter of the Partnership, is this: American consumers have a broad range of affordable personal transportation choices that reduce petroleum consumption and significantly reduce harmful emissions from the transportation sector. Its mission is as follows: accelerate the development of pre-competitive and innovative technologies to enable a full range of efficient and clean advanced light-duty vehicles (LDVs), as well as related energy infrastructure. The Partnership focuses on precompetitive research and development (R&D) that can help to accelerate the emergence of advanced technologies to be commercialization-feasible. The guidance for the work of the U.S. DRIVE Partnership as well as the priority setting and targets for needed research are provided by joint industry/government technical teams. This structure has been demonstrated to be an effective means of identifying high-priority, long-term precompetitive research needs for each technology with which the Partnership is involved. Technical areas in which research and development as well as technology validation programs have been pursued include the following: internal combustion engines (ICEs) potentially operating on conventional and various alternative fuels, automotive fuel cell power systems, hydrogen storage systems (especially onboard vehicles), batteries and other forms of electrochemical energy storage, electric propulsion systems, hydrogen production and delivery, and materials leading to vehicle weight reductions.

Climate change is becoming visible today, and so this book—through including innovative solutions and experimental research as well as state-of-the-art studies in challenging areas related to sustainable energy development based on hybrid energy systems that combine renewable energy systems with fuel cells—represents a useful resource for researchers in these fields. In this context, hydrogen fuel cell technology is one of the alternative solutions for the development of future clean energy systems. As this book presents the latest solutions, readers working in research areas related to the above are invited to read it.