Hybrid polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell–lithium‐ion battery powertrain testing platform – hybrid fuel cell electric vehicle emulator

A testing and validation platform for hybrid fuel cell (FC)–lithium‐ion battery (LIB) powertrain systems is investigated. The hybrid FC electric vehicle emulator enables testing of hybrid system components and complete hybrid power modules up to 25 kW for application in electric light‐duty vehicles, light electric vehicles and so forth. A hybrid system comprising a 10‐kW_el low‐temperature polymer electrolyte membrane FC stack and an 11.5‐kWh LIB pack is installed. The system supplies power to a 20‐kW permanent magnet synchronous motor and a 25‐kW alternating current asynchronous, electrically programmable dynamometer is used to simulate the vehicle load during testing at dynamic drive cycle. The steady‐state performance tests of the direct current (DC) motor, DC/DC converter, low‐temperature polymer electrolyte membrane FC stack and LIB are performed as well as dynamic tests of the complete hybrid system. The Economic Commission for Europe driving cycle is selected as a reference cycle to validate the investigated hybrid FC–LIB powertrain. An efficiency of 83% and 95% is measured for electric motor and DC/DC converter, respectively. An average stack efficiency of 50% is achieved. An average hydrogen consumption of 3.9 g * km^?1 is reached during the Economic Commission for Europe driving cycle test. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Exergoeconomic analysis and optimization of a new hybrid fuel cell vehicle

This paper introduces thermodynamic and economic analyses on a newly developed energy system for powering hybrid vehicles based on both energy and exergy concepts. The proposed hybrid propulsion system incorporates a liquefied ammonia tank, ammonia dissociation and separation unit (DSU), an internal combustion engine (ICE), and a fuel cell (FC) system. The exhaust gases released from the ICE are exploited to supply the necessary thermal energy to decompose ammonia thermally into hydrogen and nitrogen on board. The ICE is fuelled with a blend of ammonia and hydrogen generated from the DSU. The additional hydrogen released from the DSU will also be provided to the fuel cell system to run the FC and generate electric power, which will be supplied to the electric motor to provide the required traction to the vehicle. An optimization study is also performed to identify optimum design variables. The parametric studies are included in this investigation to evaluate the influence of varying the different operational parameters on the system energy and exergy efficiencies and both total cost rate and exergoeconomic factor values of the system.     

Off-grid solar powered charging station for electric and hydrogen vehicles including fuel cell and hydrogen storage

This paper designs an off-grid charging station for electric and hydrogen vehicles. Both the electric and hydrogen vehicles are charged at the same time. They appear as two electrical and hydrogen load demand on the charging station and the charging station is powered by solar panels. The output power of solar system is separated into two parts. On part of solar power is used to supply the electrical load demand (to charge the electric vehicles) and rest runs water electrolyzer and it will be converted to the hydrogen. The hydrogen is stored and it supplies the hydrogen load demand (to charge the hydrogen-burning vehicles). The uncertainty of parameters (solar energy, consumed power by electrical vehicles, and consumed power by hydrogen vehicles) is included and modeled. The fuel cell is added to the charging station to deal with such uncertainty. The fuel cell runs on hydrogen and produces electrical energy to supply electrical loading under uncertainties. The diesel generator is also added to the charging station as a supplementary generation. The problem is modeled as stochastic optimization programming and minimizes the investment and operational costs of solar and diesel systems. The introduced planning finds optimal rated powers of solar system and diesel generator, operation pattern for diesel generator and fuel cell, and the stored hydrogen. The results confirm that the cost of changing station is covered by investment cost of solar system (95%), operational cost of diesel generator (4.5%), and investment cost of diesel generator (0.5%). The fuel cell and diesel generator supply the load demand when the solar energy is zero. About 97% of solar energy will be converted to hydrogen and stored. The optimal operation of diesel generator reduces the cost approximately 15%.     

Impact of electric vehicles on a future renewable energy‐based power system in Europe with a focus on Germany

Electric mobility is expected to play a key role in the decarbonisation of the energy system. Continued development of battery electric vehicles is fundamental to achieving major reductions in the consumption of fossil fuels and of CO₂ emissions in the transport sector. Hydrogen can become an important complementary synthetic fuel providing electric vehicles with longer ranges. However, the environmental benefit of electric vehicles is significant only if their additional electricity consumption is covered by power production from renewable energy sources. Analysing the implications of different scenarios of electric vehicles and renewable power generation considering their spatial and temporal characteristics, we investigate possible effects of electric mobility on the future power system in Germany and Europe. The time horizon of the scenario study is 2050. The approach is based on power system modelling that includes interchange of electricity between European regions, which allows assessing long‐term structural effects in energy systems with over 80% of renewable power generation. The study exhibits strong potential of controlled charging and flexible hydrogen production infrastructure to avoid peak demand increases and to reduce the curtailment of renewable power resulting in reduced system operation, generation, and network expansion costs. A charging strategy that is optimised from a systems perspective avoids in our scenarios 3.5 to 4.5 GW of the residual peak load in Germany and leads to efficiency gains of 10% of the electricity demand of plug‐in electric vehicles compared with uncontrolled loading.     

电动汽车参与受阻风电消纳的源荷优化控制方法

大规模的电动汽车负荷可增加电网系统的调峰能力,消纳受阻风电。文章首先根据系统负荷和风电出力特性分析其受阻原因;其次,通过对电动汽车充放电特性、可时移特性和SOC模型的分析,建立了电动汽车充放电模型,并提出相应策略;然后,以电动汽车消纳后的风电剩余受阻量最小为目标,建立电动汽车参与受阻风电消纳的源荷优化控制模型,并利用差分进化算法对模型进行求解;最后,以某地区电网实际数据进行仿真计算,验证电动汽车参与受阻风电消纳协调控制的可行性与有效性。     

Energetic life cycle assessment of fuel cell powertrain systems and alternative fuels in Germany

By means of energetic life cycle assessment, innovative fuel cell (FC) powertrain systems and the respective fuels are examined and compared with conventional systems. The basis for this research is process chain analyses for the supply of conventional and alternative fuels at the point of consumption in Germany, e.g. compressed natural gas, methanol or hydrogen. To complete the integrated view, the use of these fuels in vehicles with internal combustion engines and FCs is examined. Within the scope of this study, special attention is paid to a system breakdown and energetic assessment of the FC powertrain. For the purpose of a full life cycle assessment, energy requirements and CO₂-emissions for the production, maintenance and disposal of the vehicles are included.     

Risk-constrained design of autonomous hybrid refueling station for hydrogen and electric vehicles using information gap decision theory

The proposed autonomous hybrid charging station in this paper is energized by a photovoltaic (PV) system, which should provide electric vehicles (EVs), and water electrolyzer (WE) with electricity. The WE operates by using electricity to produce and store hydrogen to feed hydrogen vehicles (HVs). Moreover, a fuel cell (FC) is allocated to the system, which uses the stored hydrogen to regenerate electricity the PV system is beyond reach. A supplementary diesel generator is also installed in the charging station to avoid power shortage as a conservative measurement. The hydrogen and electric demand of the station is accompanied by uncertainties, which should be taken into account in designing the charging station. Therefore, information-gap decision theory (IGDT) is employed to deal with the uncertainties. This approach provides the investor with three different strategies of risk-averse strategy (RAS), risk-neutral strategy (RNS), and risk-seeker strategy (RSS), which can help the investor with making a better decision. The outcome of the simulation proved that in RAS if the investor decides to invest 13.9% more capital, based on the robustness function, the charging station withstands the 9.6% deviation of uncertain parameters’ fraction error. However, should the investor decide to take risks in the construction of the charging station, by paying 13.9% less, the system is 10.7% fragile to the information-gap of uncertainties. Besides, the rated power of the PV system reaches from 1612 kW in RNS to 1731 kW in RAS while it decreased to 1479 kW in RSS.     

Remodeling of a commercial plug-in battery electric vehicle to a hybrid configuration with a PEM fuel cell

In the present research, a commercial battery-powered pure electric vehicle was suitably modified to convert it into a hybrid one integrating a PEMFC stack. The hydrogen supply system to the stack included a passive recirculation system based on a Ventury-type ejector. Besides, in order to achieve an optimum operation of the PEMFC stack, a discrete state machine model was considered in its control system. The inclusion of a rehabilitation operating mode prevented the stack from possible failures, increasing its lifetime. It was verified that for the rated operating point when supplying power to the vehicle (2.5 kW) the hydrogen consumption decreased, and the actual efficiency (47.9%) PEMFC was increased close to 1%. Field tests performed demonstrate that the range of the hybrid electric vehicle was increased by 78% when compared to the one of the original battery electric car. Also, under the tested experimental conditions in hybrid mode, 34% of the total energy demanded by the electric machine of the vehicle was supplied by the PEMFC stack.     

Energy distribution analyses of an additional traction battery on hydrogen fuel cell hybrid electric vehicle

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the world and produces only water vapor as a result of chemical reaction that occurred in fuel cells. Therefore, fuel cell electric vehicles, which use hydrogen as fuel, continue its growing trend in the sector. In this study, an energy distribution comparison is carried out between fuel cell electric vehicle and fuel cell hybrid electric vehicle. Hybridization of fuel cell electric vehicle is designed by equipped a traction battery (15 kW). Modeled vehicles were prepared under AVL Cruise program with similar chassis and same fuel cell stacks for regular determining process. Numerical analyses were presented and graphed with instantaneous results in terms of sankey diagrams with a comparison task. WLTP driving cycle is selected for both vehicles and energy input/output values given with detailed analyses. The average consumption results of electric and hydrogen usage is found out as 4.07 kWh and 1.125 kg/100 km respectively for fuel cell electric vehicle. On the other hand, fuel cell hybrid electric vehicle’s average consumption results figured out as 3.701 kWh for electric and 0.701 kg/100 km for hydrogen consumption. As a result of this study, fuel cell hybrid electric vehicle was obtained better results rather than fuel cell electric vehicle according to energy and hydrogen consumption with 8% and 32%, respectively.     

Technological-economic assessment and optimization of hydrogen-based transportation systems in China: A life cycle perspective

Hydrogen energy is increasingly incorporated into long-distance transportation systems. Whether the coupled hydrogen-based transportation system can achieve a sustainable business operation mode requires quantification of environmental and economic performance by a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis. This study proposes a cost-based life cycle assessment method to evaluate the environmental and economic benefits of hydrogen-based long-distance transportation systems. The innovative cost assessment method introduces internal and external economic costs to conduct a multi-scenario assessment. According to the key factors of mileage, government subsidies and hydrogen fuel prices, this research identifies the key cost component of the hydrogen-based transportation system in China by using a multilevel comparison with cell-driven and oil-fueled vehicles. The results show that hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles are competitive in terms of both fuel costs and environmental costs. As hydrogen costs are expected to be gradually reduced by 43% in the future, hydrogen logistics vehicles and heavy trucks are expected to have better life-cycle economics than other energy vehicles by approximately 2030. Hydrogen buses will outperform other vehicles by approximately 2033, while hydrogen passenger cars will have a reduced life-cycle cost per kilometre within 0.1 CHY/km compared to other vehicles by approximately 2035. Ultimately, fuel consumption, average annual mileage, and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle policy are three factors that have greater impacts. Policy implications are put forward to implement optimal investment plan for hydrogen transportation systems.     

Robust design of off-grid solar-powered charging station for hydrogen and electric vehicles via robust optimization approach

In this article, a robust optimization approach for designing an off-grid solar-powered charging station is proposed to provide electric vehicles (EVs) with electricity and hydrogen vehicles (HV) with hydrogen. A water electrolyzer (WE) is installed in the system to produce and store hydrogen, which is used by the HVs and fuel cell (FC). During the inaccessibility of the photovoltaic (PV) system to feed the EVs, the FC runs on hydrogen to regenerate electricity. Besides, in case the PV system and FC have power shortage to meet the demand of EVs, a diesel generator contributes to electricity production. There are uncertainties involved in the power profile of the PV system as well as the hydrogen and electric demands of the charging station. The novelty of this paper is to integrate robust optimization as a powerful nonstochastic framework into the mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) of the deterministic model to deal with the uncertainties. The technical and economic results prove that the construction of the charging station by considering the highs level of robustness against the negative impacts of uncertainties leads to higher capacities of the PV system and diesel generator. Consequently, the total annualized cost increases from $ 287,256 in deterministic mode to $ 326,757 in robust mode, by 13.75%.     

Neural network-based energy management of multi-source (battery/UC/FC) powered electric vehicle

Due to increased environmental pollution and global warming concerns, the use of energy storage units that can be supported by renewable energy resources in transportation becomes more of an issue and plays a vital role in terms of clean energy solutions. However, utilization of multiple energy storage units together in an electric vehicle makes the powertrain system more complex and difficult to control. For this reason, the present study proposes an advanced energy management strategy (EMS) for range extended battery electric vehicles (BEVs) with complex powertrain structure. Hybrid energy storage system (HESS) consists of battery, ultra-capacitor (UC), fuel cell (FC) and the vehicle is propelled with two complementary propulsion machines. To increase powertrain efficiency, traction power is simultaneously shared at different rates by propulsion machines. Propulsion powers are shared by HESS units according to following objectives: extending battery lifetime, utilizing UC and FC effectively. Primarily, to optimize the power split in HESS, a convex optimization problem is formulated to meet given objectives that results 5 years prolonged battery lifetime. However, convex optimization of complex systems can be arduous due to the excessive number of parameters that has to be taken into consideration and not all systems are suitable for linearization. Therefore, a neural network (NN)-based machine learning (ML) algorithm is proposed to solve multi-objective energy management problem. Proposed NN model is trained with convex optimization outputs and according to the simulation results the trained NN model solves the optimization problem within 92.5% of the convex optimization one.     

Comparative life cycle assessment of hydrogen-fuelled passenger cars

In order to achieve gradual but timely decarbonisation of the transport sector, it is essential to evaluate which types of vehicles provide a suitable environmental performance while allowing the use of hydrogen as a fuel. This work compares the environmental life-cycle performance of three different passenger cars fuelled by hydrogen: a fuel cell electric vehicle, an internal combustion engine car, and a hybrid electric vehicle. Besides, two vehicles that use hydrogen in a mixture with natural gas or gasoline were considered. In all cases, hydrogen produced by wind power electrolysis was assumed. The resultant life-cycle profiles were benchmarked against those of a compressed natural gas car and a hybrid electric vehicle fed with natural gas. Vehicle infrastructure was identified as the main source of environmental burdens. Nevertheless, the three pure hydrogen vehicles were all found to be excellent decarbonisation solutions, whereas vehicles that use hydrogen mixed with natural gas or gasoline represent good opportunities to encourage the use of hydrogen in the short term while reducing emissions compared to ordinary vehicles.     

A fuzzy logic based supervisory controller for an FC/UC hybrid vehicular power system

Depending on growing concerns on energy crises and environmental issues, fuel cell (FC) powered electrical vehicles are favored for possible substitute to conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) based vehicular systems. However, the typical power profile of an automobile motor consisting of transients is not suitable for the use of a sole FC system for vehicle propulsion. This shortcoming could be partly overcome by hybridization. Two potential benefits of combining an FC system with an energy storage unit, ultra-capacitor (UC) has been presented in this study. Firstly, the durability of the FC system could be improved because the additional energy source can fulfill the transient power demand fluctuations. Secondly, the ability of the energy storage source to recover braking energy enhances the fuel economy greatly. An important aspect in designing a hybrid power structure is to find a suitable control strategy that can manage the active power sharing and take advantage of the inherent scalability and robustness benefits of the hybrid system. An integrated procedure for mathematical modeling and power control strategy design for an FC/UC hybrid vehicle is presented in this paper. A fuzzy logic supervisory controller based power management strategy that secures the power balance in hybrid structure, enhances the FC performance and minimizes the power losses is proposed. The main contribution of this paper apart from the previous studies of the authors is the modeling of the complete FC power system with air supply compressor and the integration of the control of the FC system internal dynamics (especially the oxygen excess ratio) into the overall supervisory control structure to maximize the efficiency and durability. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed power management scheme, simulation studies were performed using MATLAB^®, Simulink^® and SimPowerSystems^® environments by integrating the detailed mathematical and electrical models of the hybrid vehicular system.     

Automotive fuel cell stack and system efficiency and fuel consumption based on vehicle testing on a chassis dynamometer at minus 18 °C to positive 35 °C temperatures

This paper presents an in-depth laboratory technology assessment of a 2016 Toyota Mirai Fuel Cell (FC) vehicle based on chassis dynamometer testing. The 114.6 kW FC stack has a high dynamic response, which makes this powertrain a FC-dominant hybrid electric vehicle. The measured peak efficiency is 66.0% FC stack and 63.7% FC system with an idle hydrogen flow rate of 4.39 g/hr. The high FC system efficiencies at low loads match typical vehicle power spectrums, resulting in a high average vehicle efficiency of 62% compared to 45% and 23% for a hybrid electric vehicle and a conventional vehicle, respectively. An energy breakdown accounts for the FC stack losses, FC system losses, air compressor loads, and heater loads for different drive cycles and different thermal conditions. The cold-start North American city drive cycle (UDDS) energy consumption values are, respectively, 758, 581, 226, and 321 Wh/km at ambient conditions of −18 °C, −7 °C, 25 °C and 35 °C with 850 W/m² of solar loading. The FC system shutdown and startup processes at temperatures below the freezing point contribute to the increased hydrogen consumption. The raw test data files are available for download, thus providing the research community with a public reference data on a modern production automotive FC system.     

Analysis and control of a hybrid fuel delivery system for a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell

A polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEM FC) system as a power source used in mobile applications should be able to produce electric power continuously and dynamically to meet the demand of the driver by consuming the fuel, hydrogen. The hydrogen stored in the tank is supplied to the anode of the stack by a fuel delivery system (FDS) that is comprised of supply and recirculation lines controlled by different actuators. Design of such a system and its operation should take into account several aspects, particularly efficient fuel usage and safe operation of the stack.     

Future fuel cell and internal combustion engine automobile technologies: A 25-year life cycle and fleet impact assessment

Hydrogen fuel cell (FC) vehicles are receiving increasing attention as a potential powerful technology to reduce the transportation sector's dependence on petroleum and substantially decrease emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) at the same time. This paper projects energy use and GHG emissions from different FC vehicle configurations and compares these values to the projected characteristics of similarly sized and performing gasoline and diesel fueled automobiles on a life cycle, well to wheels and cradle to grave basis. Our analysis suggests that for the next 20 or more years, new internal combustion engine (ICE) hybrid drive train vehicles can achieve similar levels of reduction in energy use and GHG emissions compared to hydrogen FC vehicles, if the hydrogen is derived from natural gas. The fleet impact of more fuel-efficient vehicles depends on the time it takes for new technology to (i) become competitive, (ii) increase its share of the new vehicles produced, and finally (iii) penetrate significantly into the vehicle fleet. Since the lead times for bringing improved ICE vehicle technology into production are the shortest, its impact on vehicle fleet energy use and emissions could be significant in 20–30 years, about half the time required for hydrogen FC vehicles to have a similar impact. Full emission reduction potential of FC vehicles can only be achieved when hydrogen is derived from zero or very low-carbon releasing production processes on a large scale—an option that further increases the impact leadtime. Thus, a comprehensive short- and long-term strategy for reducing automobile energy use and emissions should include both the continuous improvement of ICE vehicles and simultaneous research and development of hydrogen FC cars.     

Dynamic behaviour of Li batteries in hydrogen fuel cell power trains

A Li ion polymer battery pack for road vehicles (48 V, 20 Ah) was tested by charging/discharging tests at different current values, in order to evaluate its performance in comparison with a conventional Pb acid battery pack. The comparative analysis was also performed integrating the two storage systems in a hydrogen fuel cell power train for moped applications. The propulsion system comprised a fuel cell generator based on a 2.5 kW polymeric electrolyte membrane (PEM) stack, fuelled with compressed hydrogen, an electric drive of 1.8 kW as nominal power, of the same typology of that installed on commercial electric scooters (brushless electric machine and controlled bidirectional inverter). The power train was characterized making use of a test bench able to simulate the vehicle behaviour and road characteristics on driving cycles with different acceleration/deceleration rates and lengths. The power flows between fuel cell system, electric energy storage system and electric drive during the different cycles were analyzed, evidencing the effect of high battery currents on the vehicle driving range. The use of Li batteries in the fuel cell power train, adopting a range extender configuration, determined a hydrogen consumption lower than the correspondent Pb battery/fuel cell hybrid vehicle, with a major flexibility in the power management.     

Energy sources and multi-input DC-DC converters used in hybrid electric vehicle applications – A review

With the drastic inclination towards reduction of atmospheric issues, hybrid electric vehicles are becoming the major alternative for internal combustion engine vehicles. Compared to internal combustion engine vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles are remarkable in terms of efficiency, durability and acceleration capability. However, the major drawback of hybrid electric vehicle is energy storage capability. An electric vehicle requires the energy sources with high specific power (W/kg) and high specific energy (Wh/kg) to reduce the charging time. Generally, fuel cells, batteries, ultracapacitors, flywheels and regenerative braking systems are used in hybrid electric vehicles as energy sources and energy storage devices. All these energy storage devices are connected to the different DC-DC converter topologies to increase the input source voltage. From the recent past, most of the hybrid electric vehicles are using multi-input converters to connect more than one energy source in order to improve the efficiency and reliability of the vehicle. This survey presents an assessment of present and future trend of energy storage devices and different multi-input DC-DC converter topologies that are being used in hybrid electric vehicles. In addition, different electric vehicle architectures are also discussed.     

Optimal power allocation for a FCHV based on linear programming and PID controller

Hybrid electric vehicles positively influence the transportation industry with regards to reducing the use of fossil fuels and minimizing polluting emissions. A class of such vehicles incorporates fuel cells and energy storage systems as alternatives to internal combustion engines. This paper develops a dynamically efficient energy management system for fuel cell hybrid vehicles for the purpose of achieving an optimal power allocation between the energy sources while adhering to component requirements and maintaining the essential operational performance. The paper addresses a two stage control methodologies, pre-driving optimization using linear programming algorithms and on-line optimization using PID controllers and component mechanisms. The performance criteria are based on the overall operational cost as well as the hydrogen consumption per trip. Comparison against a state control algorithm shows improvements in hydrogen consumption.