Consider the price of gasoline these days and our reliance on other countries for energy, and it’s a wonder we weren’t reporting on fuel cell technology years ago, but then again, we seem to wait until our utmost attention is required.
Issues like crude oil prices and environmental impacts caused by the internal combustion engines we’ve had under our hoods for the last century have left us in quite the quandary, but maybe not for long. The key will be getting consumers to buy into them, but there are actually more effective and efficient alternatives on the way.
In July, Aftermarket Business News Correspondent Jim Guyette reported on one of those alternatives when he analyzed the hybrid market. Though it may be a few years before distributors in the aftermarket reap any benefits from the sales of these cars — which aren’t quite considered mainstream (yet) — they do have OEs buzzing with confidence. As for fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) and the onset of hydrogen as the fuel of choice, they’re gaining momentum. Only time will tell if we’re dealing with the tortoise or the hare.
Yep, it’s rocket science
Fuel cells (FCs) have been around for more than 100 years. They’ve been used to produce electrical energy and water onboard spacecrafts; in fact, NASA began building a compact electricity generator in the 1950s for use on space missions and has funded several research projects since then. Now, various types of fuel cells are being tested and used for electrical utility, industrial, military and of course, transportation applications. Some argue that fuel cell energy will replace traditional power sources around the world and will be used to power everything from cellular phones to race cars.
If I said it’s easy to understand how these little wonders work, quite frankly, I’d be lying. There are various types that generate electricity in different ways. A fuel cell converts the chemical energy of a fuel (such as hydrogen or methanol) and an oxidant (oxygen from the air) into electricity. It’s similar to how a battery operates in that it is an electrochemical device. The amount of power a fuel cell delivers depends on its type, size, operating temperature and the pressure at which the gas is released. A single FC plate can only produce electricity for small applications so in the case of automobiles, many plates are used to form a fuel cell stack.
One type of fuel cell, called a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (or Proton Exchange Membrane — PEM for short), delivers high power density and is low in weight and volume. It has a low sensitivity to orientation, has a favorable power-to-weight ratio and offers fast start up times. What’s that mean? Its characteristics are suitable for passenger vehicle and bus applications. On a vehicle, a PEM fuel cell stack takes in hydrogen from a fuel tank and oxygen from air, then a catalyst is used to create an electrochemical reaction that produces electric current, heat and water. Electricity from the plates (in the stack) get fed to the motor from a controller system. At peak capacity, an average fuel cell vehicle can generate anywhere from 75 to 90 kilowatts of power or more, says Bob Hayden, acting communications manager for the California Fuel Cell Partnership (CaFCP). “A typical house uses 5 kilowatts or less so you can see how much energy you can get from these vehicles.”
To support the advancement of fuel cells, Freudenberg-NOK — a manufacturer of elastomeric seals and custom molded products also known as FNGP — has facilitated various tests involving FC stacks for the past seven years. With a full-time team of about 35 people, FNGP is developing the technology needed to keep the assemblies properly sealed and to ensure that the relative pressure between each plate is controlled. “You’ve got hydrogen, air and water systems all being created during the operation of fuel cells and they must be kept separate,” says Steve Haycock, manager of advanced new business development for the company. “It’s a huge challenge to put a certain number of assemblies together and have them seal properly.”
Hooray for hydrogen
Hydrogen, the world’s most abundant energy source, is the Cinderella of fuels. Unlike its cruel stepsisters — gasoline and crude oil — pure hydrogen emits no pollutants, just water and heat. The lightest gas on our planet, hydrogen doesn’t exist as a primary energy source, but can be derived from other materials in large abundance, and may allow the United States, as well as other countries, to serve as its own energy supplier.
Though hydrogen is virtually everywhere, it takes an extreme amount of energy from the environment to create the form(s) needed for vehicle applications, notes Haycock. “The eventual success of fuel cells is very dependent on the hydrogen economy and our ability to create an infrastructure.”
As for efficiency, hydrogen-fed vehicles may become a clear winner, suggests Scott Fosgard, communications director for advanced vehicle technology at GM. He says most hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are twice as efficient as internal combustion engines in transforming energy to power. They can be refueled quicker and in the future, will even run longer between refueling. Fosgard says the GM Hy-Wire — a zero emissions fuel cell and drive-by-wire concept car — gets equivalent to 41 mpg.
Concept vs. reality
Many companies have made remarkable financial investments in research, technology and personnel to develop and test what many believe will be the next-generation automobile.
Ten years ago, DaimlerChrysler presented the world with its very first fuel cell vehicle, called NECAR1, and just two months ago, they handed over their first fuel cell passenger cars to German customers in Berlin. They have fuel cell buses in 10 major European cities and UPS is using DaimlerChrysler FC concept vehicles to deliver packages in the U.S.
Toyota’s FCHV has already undergone more than 80,000 miles of real-world testing over the course of 18 months. It features a proprietary fuel cell system with four 5,000-psi hydrogen fuel tanks. Hydrogen gas feeds into the fuel cell stack where it is combined with oxygen. This generates a peak of 90 kilowatts of electricity, which powers the 109-hp electric motor and charges the vehicle’s nickel-metal hydride batteries, which also feed power-on-demand to the electric motor drive system. It emits only clean water vapor. “We are certified for commercial use by the California Air Resources Board with models also being leased to college campuses in the state,” says Craig Scott, product planner for hybrid fuel cells at Toyota. The automaker has seven FCHVs on the road in California. As for challenges Toyota is facing based on input from drivers, “Our current challenge has to do with range,” says Scott. “People don’t like having to refuel their vehicles every 120 miles or so, but as for reliability and durability, they have been pretty transparent at this point.” He says these vehicles are very much still emerging and will only improve with time. Scott also says Toyota is the only automaker developing its own proprietary fuel cell stack — most manufacturers are purchasing them from energy companies or working with suppliers.
Hyundai has its FCEV vehicle, which is now based on the Tucson SUV platform. A company statement says they’ve been placed into fleet applications this year and will be available to consumers on a limited basis in 2010. With an on-board hydrogen storage tank, the vehicle is capable of operating in sub-zero temperatures and has an extended driving range of 186 miles.
According to GM’s Fosgard, their goal is to be the first automaker to sell 1 million fuel cell vehicles. But when? That remains to be seen. “We are hoping to have commercial viability by 2010, meaning we would be able to build a fuel cell system that costs similar to what the cost of a powertrain system inside a combustion engine is today.” Fosgard says right now, the cost of fuel cells are just too expensive to warrant use on a mass scale. There are also issues with storage. That’s one reason GM formed an alliance with General Hydrogen — to accelerate the spread of a hydrogen infrastructure, trying to put to rest issues with storage, refueling and energy services. Fosgard says GM has a fleet of six minivans in the DC area and that this October, in partnership with Shell, they will build a hydrogen refueling station in the nation’s capitol. Right now, their fleet of vehicles currently refuels at a Virginia military base.
Many fuel cell vehicles will also incorporate drive- and steer-by-wire technology, says Fosgard. “Drivers of fuel cell vehicles will require totally different service and parts than today’s cars. There are about a tenth the parts in a fuel cell vehicle compared to current vehicles.” Their Hy-Wire concept is completely electric. The fuel cell propulsion system is housed entirely in an 11-inch thick skateboard-like chassis. By-wire controls attached to the chassis through a single docking port use electrical signals instead of mechanical links of hydraulics to control steering, acceleration and braking. When asked why they were going this route, he said mainly because every time they change a vehicle’s design or size, they have to reconfigure the engine compartment. “Without an engine, steering column or other conventional components, this would simplify that for us.”
Toyota’s Scott says that most likely all fuel cell vehicles will feature drive- and steer-by-wire and other electric technology. “Never mind fuel cells, these types of advancements are happening anyway.”
In terms of driving characteristics, the FCVs are and will continue to be similar in nature compared to today’s vehicles. But, according to Bob Hayden of the CaFCP, “in terms of mechanics, fuel cell vehicles are a completely different animal.” With no combustion at all and a completely different source of energy, this technology is a far cry from traditional gasoline-powered engines that normally need parts, repair and service, which means aftermarket parts suppliers, jobbers, and technicians especially, are going to have to be trained in “all kinds of power electronics.” The state of California is recognizing this need, Hayden says, and is developing courses and programs throughout the state’s community college and university system that focus on electric drive vehicles.
Gary Corrigan, VP of corporate communications at Dana, says that FCVs will very much be “chip and wire” and that it’s likely that parts will be distributed through specialists and not through traditional channels. “These vehicles will change the type of products that go into them. Electronics will be critical for things like throttles, brakes and steering.” But he also says that unless there is a breakthrough in hydrogen storing or reforming, “you’re looking at 10 years or more down the road before fuel cell passenger cars even become available.”
Bruce Moor, business development manager for the Delphi Dynamics and Propulsion Innovations Center, says that although there are already fuel cell vehicles on our roadways in various test programs, he estimates that this technology won’t become mainstream for 10 to 20 years.
Fosgard provided me with a brief education on actual vehicle penetration by using the hybrid market as an example. He explained that hybrids have been on the market for a few years now, and more than 100,000 have been sold — which is great news for automakers — but there are more than 60 million vehicles sold each year worldwide, and that number is growing. Even if fuel cell vehicles are available on show floors in the next 10 to 15 years with warranty programs that have drivers running to dealers with issues for an additional few years, it could be more than a decade or two before those in retail and wholesale distribution are truly affected.
As for the future of internal combustion engines, no one I spoke with is anywhere near ready to write them off. Fosgard says the majority of their research still focuses on today’s vehicle engine technology, which he says will only get better with time. “Internal combustion engines will be the dominant technology for the foreseeable future. But, fuel cell vehicles have the potential to be better in every regard — from a design, cost and energy standpoint.”
As for Moor’s thoughts on what will happen with today’s technology, “You could argue that 100 years from now, maybe we won’t have internal combustion engines, but likely we will have a mix of various vehicles.” Delphi is also another supplier that has been heavily involved in fuel cell technology and testing. They are currently working on both stationary and vehicle applications, including one specifically for a heavy-duty truck utilizing fuel cells that run off diesel fuel. They are in development of a solid oxide FC technology, which can work off natural gas, diesel or hydrogen. “It’s more versatile regarding fuel type and it’s suitable for transportation use without the need for onboard hydrogen storage,” explains Moor. He says it will be about five years before Delphi’s technology is available to the manufacturers.
Avid industry support
With increased support from the president and the entire state of California (including the movie star turned Governor), there will be no wheels spinning in fuel cell development for transportation applications. Many auto, technology and energy companies are members of the CaFCP, which is just one of about a dozen organizations that focuses on fuel cell demonstration and testing. Bob Hayden says that, based on what he is exposed to, we are moving towards marketability. “We may be a decade or more away from mass production but automakers are currently building sufficient quantities for fleet use.” When the organization first formed in 1999, most participating companies were inwardly-focused, finding their own way to develop and test vehicles. “Now, we are at a point where that is shifting to real-world users demonstrating vehicles.” According to Hayden, fuel cell-powered fleets are coming first and steadfast. “We are already seeing them now. By 2007, there may be as many as 300 in California alone.”
There are three factors, he says, driving the move toward a hydrogen economy. One is the need for energy diversity. Two is the serious problems we have with local and national pollution. California is a leader on this front with its zero emissions regulations, and other states are sure to follow. And finally, says Hayden, “automakers have discovered that they can develop electric drive vehicles that are comparable in performance and driveability to vehicles with internal combustion systems.”
Another well-known organization, the United States Fuel Cell Council (USFCC), is working to develop the right recommended practices and standards and including all industry perspectives on that. The organization consists of automakers, energy companies and suppliers. They try to forecast the various issues that might arise on the different sides of the business, be it original equipment, on the supplier side or in the aftermarket.
“We strive to bring energy companies, components suppliers and traditional suppliers together to develop a core foundation of standards that address terminology, recyclability, safety and various other issues that may come up once these vehicles are mainstream,” says Anthony Androsky, deputy executive director of USFCC.
The road bumps
As with any new technology, there are always a few obstacles on the course to mass production. In the case of fuel cell vehicles, however, there are key issues that must be addressed in order for these alternative transportation modes to become reality. Though industry experts may argue over which is the most pressing, these issues include fuel reforming and infrastructure, storage and cost.
As discussed earlier, fuel cells typically require pure hydrogen to operate. Ideally, using solar power or other non-polluting methods to generate a supply makes the most sense, but requires a whole new infrastructure. It’s the typical “what comes first, the chicken or the egg” dilemma says Craig Scott at Toyota. People won’t be buying vehicles powered by fuel cells if they don’t have anywhere to refuel them, and there’s no sense in developing an infrastructure for a technology that isn’t mainstream yet.
California Governor Schwarzenegger recently announced plans to build a “hydrogen highway” in California but Scott says the state of vehicle technology isn’t quite ready for a full infrastructure. “It needs to follow a parallel path with vehicle development. One can’t get ahead of the other.”
Plus, the development of such a structure could take years. For the near-term, there are other options: energy and auto companies are researching hydrocarbon reforming — one of the most viable solutions to date. It’ll take our existing infrastructure and repurpose it while a more permanent infrastructure is being developed.
Some in the industry seem concerned about other issues. “More are nervous about (on-board) storage,” says Scott. “How can we keep enough hydrogen on board to keep drivers satisfied?” The vehicles have to offer a comparable range to today’s cars. “There is no clear horse winning the race.” Unlike a typical gas tank, storing hydrogen is a bit more complex. Issues with extreme temperatures and compression leave scientists wrestling with what’s best. For example, to be stored as a liquid form, hydrogen needs to be kept at a shivering -423ºF, requiring a substantial amount of energy to chill it. In addition to special equipment, there must be a system that allows the vehicle to either capture the venting gas that naturally boils off for reuse, or releases it safely off board. GM research suggests that liquid storage may be viable for fleets, but isn’t practical for passenger vehicles. Another option is storing hydrogen in hydride, a solid material that absorbs and releases large amounts of the gas. Fosgard explains, “With hydride, hydrogen would be stored at the atom level in this sponge-like material that gets squeezed out when it’s needed.” He seems to think that if testing continues along its current path, this scenario will win out. And although Scott at Toyota is uncertain which storage method seems to be leading the way, he’s sure that “once there is a breakthrough, you’ll see a very rapid movement toward mainstream adoption.”
FNGP’s Haycock has his own opinion regarding when FC vehicles will hit the masses. “It won’t be me or my children, maybe it will be my grandchildren (driving these vehicles).” He believes that the first trend that’ll take shape will be a move toward hybrids. His opinion is that “there will be millions of hybrids on the road before there will be thousands of fuel cell vehicles.” Certainly though, he says, you’ll see hundreds or maybe even thousands of fuel cell fleets in the years to come.”
Though motorists would likely save thousands of dollars at the pumps refueling fuel cell vehicles while at the same time helping keep the environment cleaner, costs come into play on the back end. The price of fuel cell stacks is currently too high to warrant mainstream use in homes, businesses and for automobiles. This technology requires precious metals for catalysts and expensive polymer membranes. Much is being done to ensure that costs eventually do come down, but only time will tell if it’s enough.
Despite all the obstacles, there is no doubt that fuel cell vehicles are on their way. You likely won’t see signs of its impact before the decade turns because the technology is still in its infancy. Time will tell how quickly it grows up. nehicles driven by fuel cell technology are a far cry from traditional gas powered engines. Parts distributors should take heed.
