Cruisin' the hydrogen highway

Cruisin' the hydrogen highway
By Philip Reed Email | Blog
Date posted: 10-12-2006

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Even as Honda plows forward with plans to be the first to introduce a
fuel-cell production car, I found myself strangely uninterested in this
alternative-energy vehicle. It seemed like an outdated look into the
future, like finding a back issue of Popular Mechanics that said flying
cars would be the next big thing.

Then one Sunday, the odd-looking, zero-emissions 2005 Honda FCX was
delivered to my house. It sat there while I wrestled with how to fill
it up with hydrogen on the weekend. I began to view it as a giant pain,
an albatross that would never be more than a footnote in the history of
transportation.

But then I drove it.

After about 20 seconds of beeps, whirs and strange groans, the display
panel flashed "Ready to Drive." I slid it into gear and pulled onto the
hydrogen highway. Within a mile, I knew what I would say in my review:
Make the cost of this car competitive, make hydrogen stations readily
available, and I'd be content to drive one of these babies from here on
out.

But huge questions loom: Can you manufacture hydrogen inexpensively?
Can you ship and store it safely? Answers to those questions are being
hotly investigated by many more qualified minds than mine. And they are
questions that will need to be answered before Honda's production
vehicle, to be released in two years, can be more than just a pilot
program. All I can tell you about is how it feels to drive this car.
Cut back to me driving the FCX and push in for a tight shot revealing a
smile on my face.

Are fuel cells coming of age?
The first usable fuel-cell cars began to appear on the roads in 2002,
but they were limited in range and wildly expensive. The 2003 Honda FCX
was the first hydrogen-powered fuel-cell car to be certified by the
California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the U.S. EPA in July 2002.
The 2005 FCX received a Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) rating by CARB and
an EPA Tier-2 Bin 1 rating, the lowest possible national emissions
rating.

The 2005 FCX - which uses the same body as the Honda EV+ electric car
- contains the first Honda-produced fuel-cell stack. It's quicker,
has a longer range and gets better fuel-efficiency than earlier
prototypes that lacked this power plant. Honda said the two primary
goals achieved by the technology in this car were "to increase the fuel
cell's environmental adaptability to a wide range of climates, and to
make mass production more viable."

This second-generation FCX is a prototype worth more than a million
dollars. It is capable of starting at temperatures as low as
minus-4-degrees Fahrenheit and has a range of about 190 miles on a tank
of hydrogen. The Honda Fuel Cell Stack PEMFC (Proton Exchange Membrane
Fuel Cell) delivers 107 horsepower via an electric motor. Additionally,
it uses a regenerative braking system similar to what is used in hybrid
cars, which converts the kinetic energy produced by the brakes into
electrical energy and stores it in an ultra capacitor (no, not the
"flux capacitor," from Back to the Future) which functions a bit like a
battery. As a result, fuel economy is equivalent to a car getting an
EPA city/highway rating of 62/51 miles per gallon of gas (57 mpg
combined).

Fuel cell - a simple concept
The theory behind fuel-cell cars is simple enough. Hydrogen, which is
stored under pressure in a tank, is mixed with oxygen from the air to
produce an electrochemical reaction. It's a bit like having a battery
that never goes dead as long as you keep adding hydrogen. Once the
electrical power is generated, it can be used to turn a motor that
propels the car. Power delivery is augmented by regenerative braking.
In essence, driving a fuel-cell car is very similar to driving an
electric car - except a fuel-cell car has a tailpipe from which water
vapor is the only emission.

While development of the fuel-cell stack seems to have taken a big step
forward, the infrastructure supporting the car is lagging severely
behind. When we needed a refill for our test car, we had to take the
FCX back to Honda's Torrance headquarters. The next time we were
nearing empty, Honda arranged a fill-up only three blocks away from
Edmunds.com's offices at the City of Santa Monica department of public
works. While 25 hydrogen stations are listed as being within 100 miles
of Los Angeles, only one is open to the public. The others are either
still in the planning phase or are for private vehicle fleets.

Fill 'er up (with hydrogen)
The refueling process was similar to that used to refill compressed
natural gas vehicles (CNG) except that, due to the extreme volatility
of hydrogen, a ground connector is attached. The ground connection also
reads information about the car's operation, including the temperature
of the tank, so the maximum amount of hydrogen can be pumped into it.

The Department of Energy sets a benchmark price for hydrogen at $5 per
kilogram (a kilogram is roughly equivalent to a gallon of gasoline).
However, depending on how hydrogen is manufactured - often it is made
as a byproduct of natural gas refinement - the price could vary
significantly. Currently, there are stations selling hydrogen for as
little as $3.60 a kilogram. Given that the fuel economy of the FCX is
nearly twice that of a typical gas car, this makes the price per mile
driven more economical.

Honda is planning a Home Energy Station (HES), an integrated module
that runs off a household's natural-gas supply to generate hydrogen
vehicle fuel. The HES could also provide heat and electricity back to
the house.

Unique driving experience
Step on the accelerator of the FCX and you get instantaneous power.
There is none of the wind-up, no climbing a torque curve as in a
gasoline-powered car. All the power is right there, whenever you want
it (and can find hydrogen). Since it uses an electric motor, there is
no need for a transmission. It's like being directly connected to a
silent but powerful source of energy. It feels effortless: a pleasant
feeling of freedom. Furthermore, since you know you are only leaving
behind a trail of water vapor, you feel downright virtuous.

Because our test track is over 150 miles from home, however, we had to
tow the Honda to the facility. Once there the front-drive FCX delivered
a rather pokey 13 seconds from zero to 60 mph. Despite that ultimately
slow acceleration number, the FCX delivered a strong 0-30-mph time (3.7
seconds) and had plenty of acceleration for brisk around-town driving.
On the highway, it easily cruised at 70 mph and offers a top speed of
93 mph.

Our test driver found the two-door car's handling to be poor, reaching
a slalom speed of only 60.4 mph. This could be because of the added
weight of the fuel-cell powertrain, which pushes it up to a hefty 3713
pounds. The brake pedal provided plenty of reliable feedback, and
stopping distances were average at 135 feet from 60 to 0 mph.

A very enjoyable car
The EV+ body that is now used by the FCX looks a little odd, but the
interior configuration provides a desirable, tall driving position.
This requires a significant step up to get inside. If you think to
examine the car's configuration, it's apparent there is at least 1 foot
of storage space between the bottom of the car and the interior
floorboards, space that is used to store the electronics. Creating a
vehicle with these dimensions could pose a problem to future production
fuel-cell cars.

One nice touch is the unusually good legroom and visibility for
rear-seat passengers. The seats throughout are very comfortable, and
all interior features are of the usual high quality expected of Honda.
It was a smart move to make this cutting-edge car so ordinary and
pleasing in every other way.

Our test vehicle had a navigation system, a very useful feature when
searching for out-of-the-way hydrogen fuel stations. The nav screen
moves up to reveal a CD player beneath and a slot for memory cards. All
the climate controls are simple and straightforward. We particularly
enjoyed the attractive and cool blue gauges that flicker constantly to
show the inner workings of the fuel-cell system. Our eyes were often
drawn to the "miles to empty" gauge, which seem oddly low-tech given
its extremely important role.

But what of safety?
Many people who rode in the fuel-cell car were concerned about the
rear-positioned hydrogen tank, perhaps because of the horrific images
of the Hindenburg explosion in 1937. However, Honda said the fuel tank
in the FCX has been extensively tested - once it was crash tested in
a collision with a train - and it never ruptured. Furthermore,
hydrogen is extremely light and, if a leak occurred, the vapor would
rapidly rise and quickly dissipate. This is actually safer than a
normal car which, if it leaked would leave pools of flammable gasoline
under it.

Where does this road lead?
Honda admitted that the future of fuel-cell cars is uncertain and there
is no guarantee that this type of car will ever make a practical
contribution to meeting our transportation needs. The platinum
fuel-cell stack is expensive and very labor-intensive to assemble.
Notwithstanding, Honda has set an admirable example by putting 15 FCXs
on the road, mainly with public agencies in California, and has another
five cars that are used for Honda's internal fleet.

Honda is also pressing forward with plans to introduce a production
fuel-cell vehicle slated to go on sale in two years. The cost of this
production vehicle, currently named the FCX Concept, has not yet been
set or even estimated. And clearly, to make it practical would require
the completion of California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's Hydrogen
Highway. This, and many other things about hydrogen fuel-cell cars, are
still very much in the planning - and dreaming - phase.
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FullTests/articleId 7077?imw=Y

lkgeo1 wrote:
...

Such a glowing testimonial. For a mere million dollars you can have a
car that can't be filled up (no stations), has to be towed to test
tracks, takes 20 seconds to 'warm up' and may never be more than a
dream.

Compare this to any of the new breed of prototype electric cars that
are as fast (or faster) than any sports car, can be recharged anywhere,
and cost less than 1/10th as much.

For the $15 million price of those 15 hydrogen prototypes they could
have put over 150 electric cars on the road.

Anthony

U.S. Transit Official Announces $49 Million in Federal Grants for
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus Research

Publication Date:12-October-2006
04:30 PM US Eastern Timezone
Source:FuelCellWorks
Top U.S. Transit Official Announces $49 Million in Federal Grants for
Research to Make Commercially Viable Hydrogen Fuel Cell Buses a Reality
Following a tour of SunLine Transit's Sunfuels Fueling Station in
Thousand Palms, CA Federal Transit Administrator James Simpson and
Congresswoman Mary Bono announced $49 million in federal grants for
researchers around the country to explore new ways to make commercially
viable hydrogen fuel cell buses a reality.

Three nonprofit organizations from around the country were
competitively selected by the FTA to receive a share of the $49
million: the Center for Transportation and the Environment in Atlanta,
the Northeast Advanced Vehicle Consortium in Boston and
Westart/CALSTART of Pasadena, California.

"By funding this program, Congress has allowed the transit industry
to continue its long tradition as an innovator in the areas of
alternative fuels and technology," said FTA Administrator James
Simpson. "Through this national program, we can consolidate-and
accelerate-the process of making hydrogen buses commercially feasible
as cleaner, more energy efficient alternatives".

Simpson said that Hydrogen fuel cell buses offer zero-emissions
transportation in some of the nation's most congested corridors,
reducing potential health risks to the general population.  Also,
transit officials expect that clean, quiet, energy-efficient transit
buses will enhance the attractiveness of public transportation, lead to
increased ridership, and move the nation toward energy independence.

As one of the champions for the new program Congresswoman Mary Bono
(R-CA) stated "The expansion and use of fuel cell and hydrogen
technology is a necessary and innovative step to significantly reduce
dependency on foreign oil.  Americans and Congress must continue to
support legislation that strengthens any efforts to diversify our
nation's energy portfolio."

Another champion for the program, Congressman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) said
"Today, I welcome the progress that the FTA is making with the award
of grants under the National Fuel Cell Bus Program.  Fuel cells are an
important enabling technology that has the potential to reduce
America's dependency on fossil fuels.  This program will help
accelerate the successful commercialization of hydrogen and fuel cell
propulsion for the transportation industry."

Simpson noted that SunLine Transit, along with its research partners
will receive $2.8 million to design and demonstrate 40-foot fuel cell
buses, and to evaluate their performance in a hot desert climate.
SunLine is also among those receiving $3.6 million to test the life
expectancy of an existing line of fuel cell buses.

Another example on the East Coast includes the Washington Metropolitan
Area Transit Authority (WMATA).  WMATA and with its research partners
will receive $8.4 million for advanced bus development and in-service
evaluation of hybrid fuel cell buses.

The multimillion dollar national grant announcement was made possible
through the National Fuel Cell Bus Technology Development Program,
which was part of the recently enacted Safe, Accountable, Flexible,
Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users
(SAFETEA-LU).

Full list of the 3 organizations awarded grants including their
partners and specific participants.

National Fuel Cell Bus Program Projects

Center for Transportation and the Environment

Project Title: Dual Variable Output Fuel Cell Hybrid Bus Validation and
Testing

Gov't Share: $5,668,000

Description: Develop battery-dominant 35-foot plug-in hybrid fuel cell
bus (Hydrogenics) and demonstrate in Birmingham, Columbia, SC and in
cities in CT.

Partners: Birmingham Jefferson County Transit, Birmingham, AL
CT Transit, Hartford and New Haven, CT
Central Midlands RTA, Columbia, SC
Innovation Drive; Mobile Energy Solutions; Hydrogenics; Sabre
Engineering; U. of Alabama Birmingham; Central Alabama Clean Cities;
Greater New Haven Clean Cities; Columbia Central Midlands RTA; South
Carolina Research Authority; University of South Carolina

Project Title: Survey and Analysis of Bus Demonstrations

Gov't Share: $84,000

Description: Document and analysis of bus demonstrations around the
world from 2002-2007

Partners: Breakthrough Technologies Inst.; PE Europe; Western Australia
Dept of Planning & Infrastructure

Northeast Advanced Vehicle Consortium

Project Title: WMATA/UTC Power Fuel Cell Bus Demonstration

Gov't Share: $8,355,000

Description: Advanced bus development and in-service evaluation of
hybrid 40-foot fuel cell buses.  Enhanced UTC 120 kW Proton exchange
membrane (PEM) fuel cell with upgraded seals, catalysts, bipolar
plates, balance of plant.

Partners: Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA),
Washington, DC
Ballard; ISE Corp; New Flyer; Shell Hydrogen; Booz Allen Hamilton

Project Title: Lightweight Fuel Cell Hybrid Bus

Gov't Share: $6,695,000

Description: Develop advanced propulsion system and integrate on mule
bus then lightweight bus platform with field evaluation. Ballard Mark
1100 Light Duty fuel cell Module, (75 kW) with ultracapacitors or
Lithium-ion batteries.

Partners: New York Power Authority, White Plains, NY
GE Research; Ballard; A123 Systems

Project Title: Massachusetts Hydrogen Fuel Cell Powered Bus Fleet

Gov't Share: $4,875,000

Description: Advanced bus development and in service demonstration.
Integrate  Nuvera 82 kW fuel cell with rive system from ISE Corp., and
advanced energy storage. Demonstration effort includes Nuvera's novel
PowerTap  refueling infrastructure.

Partners: Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport), Boston, MA
MBTA, Boston, MA
Nuvera Fuel Cells; ISE Corp.; Keyspan; AVSG

Project Title: WMATA/Ballard Fuel Cell Bus Program

Gov't Share: $6,120,000

Description: Develop and demonstrate 40-foot buses - one prototype
and one pre-commercial bus for up to 2 years.  Bus may possibly
benefit from similar design to 2010 BC Transit design for Olympics;
Next generation Ballard 155 KW automotive fuel cell stack (Mk902) in
hybrid configuration with ISE drive ultracapacitors or batteries.

Partners: Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA),
Washington, DC
Ballard; ISE Corp; New Flyer; Shell Hydrogen; Booz Allen Hamilton

Project Title: FTA National Fuel Cell Bus Working Group

Gov't Share: $500,000

Description: Support for FTA U.S. Fuel Cell Bus Working Groups and data
collection efforts

Partners: Northeast Advanced Vehicle Consortium

Project Title: International Fuel Cell Bus Working Group and
Workshops

Gov't Share:  $400,000

Description: Coordinate activities for International Fuel Cell Working
Group and collaboration and outreach efforts for international fuel
cell bus demonstration efforts

Partners: Northeast Advanced Vehicle Consortium

Project Title: International Fuel Cell Bus Workshops

Gov't Share: $255,000

Description: Conduct workshop once per year from 2007-2010

Partners: Electric Drive Transportation Association

Weststart CALSTART

Project Title: American Advanced Fuel Cell Bus Program

Gov't Share: $2,832,000

Description: Design and demonstrate 40-foot fuel cell bus with design
improvements; in service evaluation in hot desert climate

Partners: SunLine Transit Agency, Thousand Palms, CA
New Flyer Industries; ISE Corp.; UTC Fuel Cells

Project Title: Compound Fuel Cell Hybrid Bus for 2010

Gov't Share: $5,350,000

Description: Develop 40-foot fuel cell bus with fuel cell auxililary
power unit coupled with diesel engine.  Demonstrate  for one year at
San Francisco MUNI.  Small Hydrogenics Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM)
FC (12KW twin or 16 KW), BAE drive, electrically driven accessories,
advanced energy storage.

Partners: San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, San Francisco,
CA
BAE Systems; Hydrogenics; DaimlerChrysler - Orion; Westport
Innovations; Lincoln Compoosites; Engineered Machine Products

Project Title: AC Transit HyRoad: Commercialization of Fuel Cells for
Public Transit

Gov't Share: $3,575,000

Description: Accelerated testing to failure (partial phase 1) of
existing fuel cell buses

Partners: Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit), Oakland,
CA
SunLine Transit Agency, Thousand Palms, CA
Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Commission; UTC Power; ISE Corp.;
Van Hool Bus manufactuerer.

Project Title: Hybrid Fuel Cell Power Converter

Gov't Share: $152,550

Description: Design and bench-test bi-directional, DC-DC converter for
reduced cost, weight, and volume

Partners: US Hybrid; ISE Corp.; Hydrogenics; UTC Power

Project Title: Integrated Auxiliary Module for Fuel Cell Buses

Gov't Share: $138,450

Description: Design, fabricate, and bench test Integrated Auxiliary
Module

Partners: US Hybrid, integrators (TBD)

Anthony Matonak wrote:

lkgeo1 wrote:

You mean SUBSIDY !

Money that'll be the equivalent of simply flushed down the toilet.

Graham

Anthony Matonak wrote:

At least 750 electric Smarts.

Graham