Automakers have major stake in fuel cells
By Sarah Stone -- Purchasing, 5/6/1999
Since the energy crunch of the seventies, there has been talk of various kinds of alternative power sources for automobiles that would allow Americans to continue their love affair with the car without dependence on the rapidly dwindling supply of gasoline or other petroleum products. But all the proposed new technologies seemed to have huge problems: limited range, like electric cars, or dubious fuel sources, like methane-powered motors, or just plain lack of feasibility in temperate climates, like solar power cells mounted on car roofs.But now, suddenly, big car companies are coming out with alternatively powered concept cars or engines that are feasible, reasonably economical to build, and have a normal range. The key is the development of the hydrogen-powered fuel cell.
This technology is so promising that the big carmakers are spending as much on R&D to develop fuel-cell vehicles as they do on introducing an entire new line of traditional cars: in the case of DaimlerChrysler--currently the leader--$1.4 billion. On March 17, Jurgen Schrempp and Robert Eaton, co-chairs of DaimlerChrysler, unveiled the necar 4, a prototype of what the company promises will be on the road within five years.
The concept car is powered by liquid hydrogen, which is produced from water in an electrolyzer and stored in a cryogenic chamber at the rear of the vehicle. The fuel is processed by a proton exchange membrane fuel cell, which separates hydrogen into protons and electrons and combines them with air, a process that creates a surplus and deficit of particles, which in turn creates positive and negative terminals that produce electricity. The only by-product of the process is water.
Earlier prototypes tended to be very bulky, but the current technology has reduced the size of the entire system, allowing it to be installed under the floor of a normal-size car and at the rear. This leaves space for five passengers plus cargo, much like conventional vehicles. The earliest models had space for only one passenger at a time.
According to Ferdinand Panik, DaimlerChrysler's head of the Fuel Cell Project, the development of the smaller fuel cell will have as much impact on the automotive industry as the microchip had on the computer world. One of the most significant breakthroughs is that, unlike many other alternative-power vehicles proposed in the past, it is not an internal combustion engine. It therefore produces no emissions. In fact, many in the industry refer to this type of car as the zero-emission vehicle. Carol Browner of the Environmental Protection Agency points out that fuel-cell cars leave a trail of water vapor rather than carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide, and metals.
Another advantage of the new technology is that range and speed are comparable to what most Americans are used to. The prototype goes 280 miles before needing to be refueled and can attain a speed of 90 miles per hour. Those two factors--range and speed--have been the greatest hindrances to wider acceptance of electric cars.
Concept may not become reality, exactly
DaimlerChrysler's mass-market vehicles will have a different technology from the concept cars, however. The reason is that the extremely cold temperatures needed to store liquid hydrogen are impractical fuel for large-scale production. Also, the prototype is very heavy. So DaimlerChrysler is planning to use methane as the fuel for necar x, the current name for the eventual hybrid production vehicle. Methane contains hydrogen, does not require extremely low temperatures, and will allow cars to be half a ton lighter than the prototype. The use of methane will require methane filling stations.
DaimlerChrysler is by no means alone in developing this technology. GM has announced it will be putting hybrid diesel electric trucks into circulation by 2001, as an interim move on its way to full-scale fuel-cell vehicles. It opted to focus first on trucks because they are the fastest-growing segment of automotive production. Also, a number of states, including California, New York, and Massachusetts, have enacted tougher emissions standards, and all the major automotive companies are scrambling to find ways to comply with what promises to become ever-stricter standards.
GM says it plans to have its fuel-cell vehicles in production by 2004. Ford is also entering the market, with its P2000 vehicles. Both Ford and DaimlerChrysler are working with Ballard Power Systems, the makers of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell, in a three-way partnership to advance this new breed of vehicle. Ballard is also actively involved in the development of fuel-cell buses, and is testing buses with the Chicago Transit Authority and BC Transit.
Honda is another automaker with ongoing R&D in fuel-cell technology. The company spent nearly $2 million last year to buy fuel cells from Ballard for R&D.
The use of hydrogen as a source of power for vehicles of all kinds is not new, but is suddenly gaining a lot of attention, in part because of new reductions in size of the power packs. In early April of 1999, the National Hydrogen Association held its 10th annual U.S. Hydrogen Meeting and Exposition in Virginia, and several car companies showcased their latest models. The technology is advancing faster than most observers expected and is taking some by surprise. But because of its very obvious benefits, it is becoming the most widely researched (and heavily financed) facet of automotive production in the industry.
Some of the ancillary markets and products that fuel cells bring with them are hydrogen refueling stations (or methane for hybrids); portable refueling devices that will fit in car trunks; hydrogen-fueled bus and truck fleets; fuel cells for stationary power such as that required in many factories, hospitals, offices and schools; and the use of landfills and other biomass as sources of gas for some types of fuel cells. Environmental groups and various federal agencies are showing strong interest in supporting fuel-cell research because of its zero-emissions possibilities.
As the number of companies investing in fuel-cell research increases, the uses of the technology are likely to, also. If DaimlerChrysler's Panik is right, and this is the auto industry's microchip, purchasing pros in the automotive industry are well advised to become experts on the fuel-cell supply base.
DaimlerChrysler
GM
Ford
Honda
Toyota
Nissan
Volkswagen/Volvo
Renault
Peugeot/Citroen
Ballard Power Systems
Energy Partners
H-Power
International Fuel Cells
Plug Power, L.L.C.
De Nora (Italy)
Zevco (England)
Automakers and suppliers involved in fuel-cell research
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