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Fuel cells offer a high-efficiency and low-emission alternative to internal combustion engines (ICE) in vehicle applications. The fuel cell is silent, vibration free and zero emissions at point of use which allows the vehicle engineer considerably greater operational flexibility than with an ICE. The engineer is no longer constrained by the need to maintain discrete power levels to minimise noise intrusion, or switch the ‘engine’ off at low vehicle speeds to reduce noise and vibration. This paper presents simulation work comparing the performance of a typical B-segment electric vehicle with either a fuel cell or an ICE range extender over a number of real-world drive cycles. Intelligent Energy’s ‘Gen4’ air cooled fuel cell system is detailed as the fuel cell range extender, a typical 660cc naturally aspirated gasoline engine is considered for comparison.

Range Extender Hybrid Vehicles (REHVs) offer a highly practical real-world solution exploiting the benefits of plug-in electric vehicle driving covering the majority of drivers daily requirements, with the elimination of range anxiety. Romax Technology have developed a new philosophy for hybrid and electric vehicle powertrain design focused on efficiency optimisation. Here we describe our approach and explore the design issues of REHVs to show the benefits.