FuelCellsWorks

Two massive M-1 Abrams Tanks from 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, provide over watch for Soldiers from Company B, 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, attached to the 1st Cavalry Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, while on patrol in the Al Doura district of Baghdad. Photo credit Cpl. Alexis Harrison

The U.S. Army is testing fuel cell technology for an auxiliary power unit which can bring more electrical power on board an Abrams tank, service officials said.

The APU is designed to convert JP8 diesel fuel into hydrogen and then generate electricity through a fuel cell; fuel cells involve a chemical reaction wherein electrical current is generated by the breaking down of a hydrogen atom, said Steven Eick, chemical engineer, Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC).

The idea is to give an Abrams tank — and ultimately other combat vehicles — the ability to accommodate more on-board electricity such as more computing, battle command technologies, sensors and other electronics by adding fuel cells.

“Currently it is only being tested in a lab but it is being designed for the Abrams. Right now this is a prototype which will increase in its power density as it gets developed. Once it proves itself out in the lab – the intent is to install and test it in an actual vehicle,” said Eick.

“Our goal is to generate more on board power to help support radios and other equipment.”

Army engineers are also experimenting with fuel cell technology used to drive non-tactical vehicles, Eick said.

TU Vienna. – Every living cell in our body can do it: covered with a thin membrane known as a cell membrane or nanomembrane, the cells can deliberately let specific substances in and out. Although it is thousands of times thinner than a human hair, this nanomembrane has an extremely complex structure and function. Three Nobel prizes have already in recent years been awarded for improving our understanding of these nanomembranes.

Biological nanomembrane has hundreds of very tinny channels which convey water, electrical charges and nutrients around and in doing so, create an equilibrium within the cell. However, we still do not know about many of the functions and structural details, but only channels which balance the water and proton exchange have been understand in depth. “These extremely fine cell membrane channels, with the ability to selectively convey protons, function in exactly the same way as fuel cells created by humans“, explains Dr Werner Brenner, “only this naturally occurring process is considerably more efficient“.

Fuel cells: an alternative to oil

Today, fuel cells are seen as a serious alternative to oil, which until now has been the basis for electrical energy and mobility. However, the earth’s oil reserves are rapidly running out, under economic pressure to drill ever deeper into the seabed. Oil combustion also generates CO2, soot and other pollutants. In contrary, the only waste product from a fuel cell is water.

The EU project focuses on the design of the main component of every fuel cell – i.e. the membrane – with the intention of conveying protons more efficiently than in previous solutions. “It is not easy task, but it is possible. Nature has been producing these structures for billions of years and their effectiveness can be seen in every living organism. Our task is to transfer the structure of these natural nanochannels to an artificial nanomembrane, which is itself only a few hundred nanometres thick“, explains Dr Jovan Matovic.

A wide range of scientific approaches are required for this project, ranging from solid state physics and nanotechnology through to chemistry. Therefore, international cooperation with six universities, research institutes and companies is also of great importance. The EU project is being coordinated by the TU Vienna research team of Dr Werner Brenner, Dr Jovan Matovic and Dr Nadja Adamovic at the Institute of Sensor and Actuator Systems.

The University research team is confident: “The results of this project should have far-reaching significance for our society. If we succeed in creating the nanochannels exactly as planned, then completely different fields of application will open up, such as the accurately controlled delivery of medicine, water desalination or even new types of sensors“, explains Dr Nadja Adamovic, “In this project, the boundaries between “artificial and “natural“ are becoming even more blurred“.

Makers of industrial truck batteries and hydrogen fuel cells discuss each power source.

Dewitt, NY – The Second Quarter 2010 issue of The MHEDA Journal (http://www.themhedajournal.org), the leading online magazine for the forklift, conveyor, storage & handling, and general material handling equipment industries, includes a point/counterpoint between Dan Dwyer, vice president and general manager of industrial truck battery supplier Sackett Systems, and Warren Brower, product marketing manager at Plug Power Inc., a manufacturer of hydrogen fuel cells.

According to Dwyer, fuel cells have not yet proven their return on investment to material handling end-users. “In their limited tests, fuel cell-powered machines have shown that they can perform relatively adequately. They may indeed be a solution for end-users down the road,” he says. “Until then, there are still a few concerns that distributors should consider in a detailed way before encouraging customers to move forward with adoption.” Among the concerns he lists are productivity, the business model, service requirements and the unknowns that exist with an unproven product.

On the other hand, Brower touts the benefits of hydrogen fuel cells and how they can improve end-user operations. “The key with fuel cells is to focus on specific high-volume and high-throughput operations,” he says. “As long as the fuel cell has fuel in it, it will run at full speed, whereas a lead-acid battery has performance limitations as it discharges. In some applications, a fuel cell can last one and a half to two times longer than a fully charged battery. In a high-throughput environment, the productivity difference can be substantial.”

For the complete articles, read “Beware Fuel Cell Lift Trucks” and “Fuel Cells Provide End-User Benefits” in the April 2010 issue of The MHEDA Journal Online at http://www.themhedajournal.org. The print version was mailed to subscribers on April 15. The MHEDA Journal is published quarterly in January, April, July and October. For more information, contact Chris Powers, editor, (315) 445-2347, e-mail: chris@datakey.org.

About MHEDA
Founded in 1954, the Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association (MHEDA) is the premier source for manufacturing knowledge, education and networking. Through its member journals (www.TheMhedaJournal.org), e-magazines, newsletters and industry wiki (www.wikimheda.org), MHEDA connects the manufacturers of storage and handling, lift trucks and conveyor equipment and distribution leaders for the purpose of delivering optimal solutions to the users of those products. MHEDA publications are the industry’s voice for all matters related to the latest technology and the most up-to-date processes spanning the movement and storage of all materials. A 501(c)3 organization, MHEDA members span all of North America.

Today nearly all of the talk is about hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery electric vehicles.

But where are the fuel cell-powered vehicles that gained so much attention a few years ago? Closer to production than you might think–although in very small numbers.

“We will come to the market in 2015,” says Bill Reinert, national manager of advanced vehicles at Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc.

That time frame “is not just us,” Reinert adds. “You will hear that from General Motors, Daimler-Benz and some other people.”

 Automakers are going ahead despite the lack of a hydrogen refueling infrastructure–the long-standing obstacle to fuel cell growth. They hope that by 2015, refueling stops will begin to sprout up around the country.

And automakers are trying to find ways to stimulate the hydrogen network.

For instance, GM is partnering in Hawaii with The Gas Co. The utility plans to tap into its 1,000-mile utility pipeline system, separate the hydrogen from the synthetic natural gas and sell the hydrogen to refueling stations in Hawaii. The cost to add hydrogen fueling equipment is expected to be $300,000 to $500,000 per pump

Two advantages

Despite the formidable challenges, automakers favor the fuel cell because there is a huge twofold benefit: no need for petroleum and no emissions from the tailpipe. A fuel cell uses hydrogen to generate electricity through a chemical reaction and emits only water vapor through the tailpipe. Hydrogen is plentiful and can be derived from natural gas, methanol and even water.

The push for fuel cells also is fueled by the realization by automakers that hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery-powered vehicles collectively will be unable to meet stiffer CO2 regulations later this decade.

“You need a complete portfolio of advanced propulsion technology,” says Charlie Freese, executive director of GM’s global fuel cell activities.

The 2015 time frame is the result of advancements in technology that make the fuel cell more reliable, smaller and less costly.

“The engineering has advanced to the point that we believe we can make money on these cars, that we don’t have to subsidize them, and price in the $50,000 area,” says Toyota’s Reinert.

Freese says several thousand fuel cell vehicles from GM are conceivable in 2015, but he will not estimate price

Quick refills

The fuel cell power train consists of four elements:

1. A tank that stores hydrogen.
2. A fuel cell stack that converts hydrogen and oxygen into heat and water, creating electricity.
3. Lithium ion batteries that store the electricity.
4. A power unit that controls the flow of electricity to the electric motors that propel the vehicle.

Unlike a battery-powered vehicle that can take six, seven, eight hours to recharge, a hydrogen refill takes about 3 1/2 minutes. Also, while a battery-powered vehicle has a range of about 100 miles depending on conditions, Honda’s Clarity, a mid-sized sedan, can travel about 240 miles on hydrogen. GM expects 300 miles for its fuel cell car.

As part of a Honda test fleet, 20 consumers in California have been leasing the Clarity since 2008, paying $600 per month. The company plans to introduce a fuel cell vehicle in 2018.

Honda is also testing a solar-powered unit that creates hydrogen by electrolyzing water. It could be used at homes and businesses.

Automakers have been able to reduce the fuel cell’s size by as much as 50 percent, compared with cells they were testing a few years ago.

They also have reduced the cost of “some of the highest-cost parts — things like the platinum, which is the catalyst,” Freese says.

For example, the fuel cell in GM’s Project Driveway test fleet uses 80 grams of platinum. The fuel cell planned for production in 2015 will use about 26 grams.

Says Freese: “We have a road map that will take us down to less than 10 grams.”

Here’s the bottom line: The price of an ounce of platinum on Tuesday, June 8, was $1,524. There are 28.35 grams in an ounce, meaning that the cost of 1 gram of platinum is $53.76. So 80 grams of platinum would cost $4,300.80; 26 grams, $1,397.76; and 10 grams, $537.60.

Automakers are targeting 2015 production because the durability of the fuel cells has been better than expected.

When GM started Project Driveway in late 2007, the expectation was 30,000 miles for each vehicle in the test fleet. With ongoing modifications, that increased to 80,000 miles.

But the major hindrance to selling fuel cell vehicles remains the lack of a hydrogen infrastructure.

Says Reinert: “You hope that the governments of the world would all get together and work collectively to make this all happen.