Fuel cells start to look real
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Fighting the deep freeze
 GM engineers have had great success in drawing full power from a fuel-cell stack frozen at -40°C (-40°F) in a matter of seconds. The improvements, developed during extensive cold testing (shown), come from cleaning water out of the system during the shut down procedure, using special coolants, and adopting other proprietary techniques. |
McCormick claims that GM engineers have made great success in handling freezability in its fuel-cell stack designs: "We can draw full power from a stack frozen at -40°C (-40°F) in a matter of seconds." Part of the improvement, he said, comes from cleaning water out of the system during the shut down procedure and from special coolants, adding that other undisclosed techniques provide the remainder of the fast startup capability.
Attaining practicality and affordability
Though engineers are currently focusing on perfecting individual subsystems, many experts believe that true practicality for fuel-cell vehicles will come eventually from a total systems approach. "We need to improve the energy, weight, and volume efficiency of all the subsystems individually and then find that unique balance point where the total system meets our goals regarding energy efficiency, zero emissions, sustainability, and cost," said Honda's Ben Knight. Lightweight auto bodies are also going to be key since weight drives the powertrain system requirements.
"We're still just getting started, but now we see a path to a marketable fuel-cell vehicle," said McCormick. "More and more suppliers are working with us, with half of our development partners from outside the automotive business." He emphasized that "we're still in the precompetitive mode with fuel cells, and issues still need to be addressed such as industry codes and standards and fuel infrastructure issues - all of which are very important to the success of fuel-cell vehicles. We all need to work much more closely with the energy companies, government agencies, and the environmental people."
Regarding commercial introduction, he said, "There's little question that the initial introduction will be done in business fleets, since central refueling avoids much of the infrastructure problem." The earliest individual sales will probably be accomplished using leasing arrangements to retain company control of the first fuel-cell vehicles until the technology is completely proven out.
To Staley, "the big issue is cost, cost, cost. Nobody's going to pay a premium for fuel-cell vehicles. In reality, fuel-cell vehicles are not going to be market-driven, but government-mandated," he stressed. "Americans have no concept of niche vehicles like city cars (with limited-range); they're used to having full-function vehicles, so that's what we're going to have to give them. The challenges involved with fuel-cell vehicles are making them the closest thing to Rocket Science I've ever worked on."
Be part of the fast-developing fuel cell arena. Attend the AEI Fuel Cell Transportation Technology Summit.
