DEVELOPMENT OF HYDROGEN-FUELED FUEL CELL- POWERED …

TECHNICAL BRIEF

DEVELOPMENT OF HYDROGEN-FUELED FUEL CELL- POWERED LIGHT-DUTY TRANSPORTATION ENGINE

S. P. N. Singh, D. J. Adams, and J. W. McKeever Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge, Teimessee 3783 1

for presentation at

Second Annual World Congress on Zero Emissions

Chattanooga, Tennessee

May30, I996

DISCLAIMER

This report was prepared as an a m u n t of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsi- bility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Refer- ence herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recom- mendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.

* Managed by Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corp. for the U.S. Department of Energy under contract DE-AC05-960R22464.

DEVELOPMENT OPHYDROG.EN-FUELED FUEL CELL POWERED LIGHT-DUTY TRANSPORTATNMJ ENGINE

S. P. A! stngk,D. A Adunrs, and J . W, McKhwr Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge, Tennessee 3 733 1

OBJECTIVE

To develop and demonstrate a prototype hydrogen-fueled fuel celI-powered automobile engine that can be used to power light-duty transportation vehicles.

BACKGROUND

The transportation sector is a mjot cause of anthropogenic pollution (especklly air pollution) both globally and in the United States (U.S.). The U.S. al present has the largest global automobile population.’ However, by the turn of the century, emerging nations such as China and India will have a number of vehicles comparable to those in the US. and Western Europe.* Unless corrective ~ i o m are taken, this increasing use of automobiles is likely to result in significantly increased global environmental emissions. For example, in 1992, the transportation sector was responsible for mora than 78% of the carbon monoxide, 44% of the nitrogen oxides, 36% of the volatile organic mmpounds, 32% of the Garbon dioxide, and 29% of the particulates emitted in the U . S 5 Thirty-nine U.S. cities have severe air pollution and air quality that is ihr below the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.‘ Globally, the World BmF estimates that motor vehicles are the greatest source of man-made air pollution. Many cities (e.&, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Shanghai, and Dellhi) suffer chronic (and ever worsening) air pollution problems caused by automotive emissions. Air pollution at this scale results in serious health problems to the populace in these areas.

The continued unchecked use of petroleum-derived fbels for transportation is likely to have serious global consequences such as severe environmental degradation (with the resulting public health costs and concerns) and potentially destructive internatiOna1 conflicts. Some ofthe reasons for these prediolions are as follows:

The expected large increase in the global automobile papulation due to rising expectations in the rapidly industsializing nations (ng., China, India, and Indonwia, to mention a few). The number of automobiles is expected to rise from 600 million currently to more than one billion in the early 21 st century.‘ Unless innovative sotutions are developed, this rise will result in significantly increased environmental pollution and degradation and exert tremendous pressure on the global crude oil resources.

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The global crude oil resources are finite and are being consumed extremely rapidly to meet the rising global energy demands. The large known principal crude oil reserves are primarily located in politically volatile regions of the world, and the rights to these sources of energy have resulted in global tensions and conflicts. As the global demand for crude oil soars, there is increased likelihood of more potentially serious conflicts as nations vie to improve their economic status and secure their energy lifelines.

To avoid the dire consequences, and yet ensure continued economic development, the global transportation sector needs to undergo a paradigm shift. The sector needs to move away from relying on internal combustion engine (ICE)-powered automobiles (that use petroleum-derived fuels) to developing and using fuel cell-powered vehicles that operate on hydrogen. A hydrogen- fueled, fuel cell-powered vehicle has several desirable attributes:

A fuel cell power plant is more efficient than the best ICE. Fuel cells can achieve efficiencies of over 80% as compared to 3540% efficiency for ICE because fuel cells, unlike ICES, are not limited by the Carnot cycle efficiency. Proton exchange membrane (PEW fuel cells are the preferred fuel cells for automotive applications, and hydrogen is the preferred fuel for PEM fuel cells.

Hydrogen is an environmentally clean fuel. When it is used in the PEM fuel cell, the only emission is water. No noxious, toxic, or hazardous emissions such as carbon and nitrogen oxides, particulates, aldehydes, and other nonmethane hydrocarbons are produced during the energy-conversion process, as is the case with ICE vehicles. A hydrogen-fueled, fuel cell- powered engine is a true zero-emission vehicle.

Hydrogen can be produced from a variety of practically limitless resources such as water, biomass, fossil fuels, and other hydrocarbons. These resources are globally much more widely and uniformly distributed than are petroleum resources. Thus, the perceived national self-interest needs to safeguard and procure vital fuel lifelines are significantly reduced. This, in turn, greatly lessens the potential for global conflicts because nations can utilize their domestic resources to fuel their economies and do not have to compete with other nations to obtain vital fuel supplies from the oil-rich countries for their economic survival and national well-being.

The fuel cell-powered drivetrain is mechanically much less complicated than an ICE- powered drivetrain. Because of the simpler design of the fuel cell drivetrain, both the manufacturing and the maintenance costs of the commercial vehicle could well be lower than that of a comparable ICE-powered vehicle.

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PROPOSED SOLUTION

A research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) program is proposed to establish the superiority of the hydrogen-fueled, PEM fuel cell-powered engine as compared to the present ICE powertrain. This program will develop and demonstrate vehicle powertrains that will meet the driving schedules for various current vehicle types such as automobiles, light-duty trucks, and two- and three-wheeled vehicles (e.g., motorcycles, scooters, and motor rickshaws). The program will also demonstrate the environmental benefits of the drivetrains by concurrently measuring the emissions (or lack thereof) from these fuel cell vehicles as they are operated through the various driving cycles.

A sketch of the typical proposed fuel cell powertrain is shown in the attached figure (Fig. 1). Briefly, the powertrain consists of a hydrogen-fueled fuel cell stack that generates an electric current. This current is fed to an electronic power c ~ n t r o l l e r . ~ ~ ~ Depending upon the demand, the power controller feeds the current to drive either the variable-speed, electric-traction motor’O~*’ or the energy storage device. The variable-speed, electric-traction motor directly drives the vehicle wheels, thus providing motion. The energy storage device, which can be either a conventional battery, a flywheel, or an ultracapacitor, is used to provide power for auxiliary loads and to meet the peak power demands of the electric drive motor, when needed. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has already developed (under other programs) most of the components of the powertrain (see Refs. 7-1 1) and has evaluated the infrastructure requirements for providing hydrogen as a transportation &el.’* All this information can be readily transferred to the development of the fuel cell vehicle powertrain.

There is a radical difference in the design and manufacture of the fuel cell-powered vehicle and that of the ICE-powered unit. Thus, from a resource utilization viewpoint and with the objective of reducing the further deterioration of the global environment, it would be prudent if the emerging nations embarked on developing their automobile manufacturing infrastructure to support the production and use of fuel cell-powered vehicles rather than ICE-powered vehicles. This action would result in placing these countries at the forefront of environmentally responsible technology development. The developed world could then learn and profit from their experiences as the emerging nations modi@ their manufacturing base from producing ICE-powered to fuel cell- powered vehicles.

The successful demonstration of this new drivetrain will pave the way to a major decrease in environmental pollution because of the inherent nature of the fuel cell engine. This program has immediacy, if one recognizes the deteriorating environmental quality in many of the major global urban areas. Once successfully demonstrated and commercialized, the fuel cell engine will permit the current global development to continue apace without the predicted consequences associated with the continuing use of ICE-powered vehicles. The sooner the fuel cell powertrain can be demonstrated and commercialized, the sooner the impending threat to the global environment will be arrested, and even reversed.

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ORNL, a multidisciplinary national laboratory, has the technical capabilities and facilities to accomplish this program efficiently and cost-effectively. Funding is sought to undertake the development and demonstration effort.

Additional details on the proposed RD&D program can be readily provided. If such additional information is desired, please contact Dr. Surnan P. N. Sin& at O N : telephone, (423) 574-6639; telefax, (423) 576-0327; and Internet address, [email protected]

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REFERENCES

1. S.C. Davis, Transportation Energy Data Book: Edition 15,0RNL-6856, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, May 1995.

2. P. Patil and P. Zegers, “Fuel Cell Road Traction: An Option for a Clean Global Society,” J. Power Sources, 49, 169-1 84, 1994.

3. U. S. Department of Energy, Transport Energy Data Book, 14th ed., U. S. Department of Energy, Washington, D.C., May 1994.

4. U. S. Department of Energy, Ofice of Transportation Technologies, O a c e of Propulsion Systems, DE92016413, U. S . Department of Energy, Washington, D.C., May 1993. Pamphlet.

5. A. Faiz et aI., Automotive Air Pollution: Issues and Options for Developing Countries, Working Paper No. 492, World Bank, Washington, D.C., August 1990.

6. D. Knott, “Alternative Motor Fuels: A Slow Start Toward Wider Use,” Oil Gas J. 93(8), 25-30, February 20,1995.

7. J. S. Lai et al., “A Novel Resonant-Snubber-Based SoR-Switching Inverter,” IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference, Dallas, Texas, March 5-9, 1995.

8. J. S. Lai, R W. Young, Sr., G. W. Ott, Jr., and J. W. McKeever, “Efficiency Modeling and Evaluation of a Resonant Snubber Based Soft Switching Inverter for Motor Drive Applications,” IEEE Power Electronics Specialists Conference, Atlanta, Georgia, p. 943-949, June 1995.

9. J. S. Lai, R. W. Young, Sr., G. W. Ott, Jr., and J. W. McKeever, “A Delta Configured Auxiliary Resonant Snubber Inverter,” IEEE U S Annual Meeting, Orlando, Florida, October 1995.

10. J. M. Bailey and R A. Hawsey, “Disc Rotors with Permanent Magnets for Brushless DC Motor,” U. S. Patent No. 5,117,141, May 26, 1992.

1 1. J. M. Bailey and R. A. Hawsey, “Ultra-High Speed Permanent Magnet Axial Gap Alternator With Multiple Stators,” U.S. Patent No. 4,996,457, February 2, 1991.

12. S. P. N. Singh and A. A Richmond, Hydrogen Fuel Dispensing Station for Transportation Vehicles, ORNL/TM-l2982, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, October 1995.