Search Results

The fuel cell vehicle (FCV) has the potential to revolutionize the world's transportation systems. As choices are made on sources of fuel for FCVs it is important to consider the life-cycle implications of each option or system. This paper summarizes the methodology and results of a joint initiative to evaluate the life-cycle performance of 72 vehicle and fuel scenarios in 3 Canadian cities, comparing Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell vehicles and fuelling infrastructure with conventional and alternative fuel vehicles. The analysis is based on actual performance data of commercial and near-commercial technologies. The specific fuels investigated were gasoline, diesel, natural gas, methanol, hydrogen and electricity. The Pembina Institute's Life-Cycle Value Assessment (LCVA) methodology was used to compare the environmental, economic and social performance of each system.

A liquid fuelled, fuel cell auxiliary power unit (APU) can provide efficient, quiet and low pollution power for a variety of applications including commercial and military vehicles. Truck idling regulation, customer comfort or military “stealth” operation by using electrical power, require a device disconnected from the main diesel engine. The power can be utilized for air conditioning as well as other auxiliary systems found on board commercial trucks for driver comfort. In a military vehicle, this regulated power could be supplied to telecommunication and other computer equipment required for military operations. A system designed to be an add-on or retrofit solution using alternative fuel can have the potential to meet these requirements on the hundreds of thousands of existing vehicles currently in service or as optional equipment on a newly procured vehicle.

Fuel cell Auxiliary Power Units (APUs) can use a variety of fuels as a hydrogen carrier. Projects showing the use of hydrogen as a fuel for an APU have been completed and the prospects of using methanol as an alternative fuel has been discussed before. Despite the success of the previous fuel cell APU demonstrations, potential military and commercial customers desire a single on-board fuel for the main propulsion engine and for the APU. Such an application would require a fuel processor that can produce sufficiently pure hydrogen for utilization in a fuel cell from prevailing hydrocarbon fuels. The position of the U.S. Army's National Automotive Center (NAC) is to address this challenge by first using a synthetic diesel fuel as part of a phased fuel reformation program. This paper presents an analysis of the use of a synthetic fuel as a hydrogen carrier.