20 February 2009
Fuel Cell Vehicles
Fleets of the Future?
In this time of record fuel prices and corporate sustainability programs, most fleet managers are focused on programs for improving mileage and reducing overall fleet emissions and operating costs—while a few fortunate others are helping gather
the experience and learning that will set the stage for the fleets
of the future.
Senior Program manager Dick Kauling shows the underside
features of teh fuel cell propulsion system equinox.
Hydrogen powered fuel cell vehicles may well be one or two decades away from practical and wide ranging use, but that hasn’t stopped industry leaders from designing early generation everyday use vehicles, and getting them into the hands of normal drivers.
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Senior Program manager Dick Kauling shows the underside
features of teh fuel cell propulsion system equinox.
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GM's fourth generation Fuel Cell Propulsion System awaits
installation into the chevrolet Equinox engine compartment.
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Prototypes
Both General Motors and Honda have pilot studies on the road today using leading edge fuel cell powered vehicles in the form of Honda’s unique design FCX Clarity and the GM’s specially retrofitted Chevrolet Equinox vehicles.
If you set aside how the hydrogen fuel was prepared, fuel cell vehicles are amongst the cleanest driving on the planet as they create their electrical power on demand by precisely combining hydrogen gas and oxygen from the air in a very high tech membrane exchange assembly— the fuel cell, with the exhaust being essentially water droplets.
GM and Honda have turned their near million dollar prototypes over to regular drivers for long term real-world testing that will help guide the future development and use of fuel cell vehicles. Honda is planning to lease about 200 FCX Clarity vehicles to California customers over the next three years, with the first deliveries taken this past summer.
GM has an even more generous program called “Project Driveway” for the drivers of their Chevrolet Equinox fuel cell powered crossover SUVs. One hundred vehicles have been provided as loaners to volunteer customers in three regions of the U.S.— Washington D.C., upper state New York, and California—who are conveniently located near the very limited number of hydrogen fueling stations. Drivers in this program take the vehicles for several months and provide GM with detailed feedback regarding their day-to-day driving experiences.
The Equinox vehicles have a very high level of Canadian content, being first assembled as a slightly special version, sans a power train, at the CAMI assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ontario. From there they were taken to GM’s Canadian Engineering headquarters in Oshawa, where the fuel cell propulsion system was added in a custom assembly shop.
From the outside, the fuel cell vehicle version looks very similar to a regular Equinox except for some small changes to the front fascia, and a slick name plate, and rear bumper treatment that has only tiny slits for the water vapour exhaust. Under the hood, the 93kW fourth generation GM fuel cell is combined with the electric drive train in an inspiring assembly that fits into the vehicle front end much like its internal combustion cousin. Below the mid section of the vehicle is a nickel-metal-hydride battery pack that stores additional energy from regenerative braking in order to increase operating efficiency and boost acceleration. Under the rear seats and cargo area are three carbon fiber hydrogen storage tanks that can carry 4.2 kg of hydrogen at 10,000 psi.
No compromises
There are no compromises in driving in this zero emissions vehicle having a 0 to 100 km/h acceleration of approximately 12 seconds, a top speed of 160 km/h, and a typical driving range of 240 km. With another two to three years of testing to be run with these fuel cell vehicles, it is safe to say that the first goal of gaining real world customer driving experience will have been achieved. From here though it is still a very long journey towards reaching competitive vehicle costs and the establishment of a practical and cost effective hydrogen fuel supply infrastructure. So we have a contender, but certainly not a sure thing yet, for the fleet of the future—check back again in another five to ten years. | 
