Fuel Cell Powered Vehicles
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Contents Executive Summary .......................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... 2 Objective ........................................................................................................................................................... 2 Approach ........................................................................................................................................................... 2 Sizing of Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles ............................................................................................................ 3 Assumptions.................................................................................................................................................. 5 Sizing Results ............................................................................................................................................... 7 Results: Midsize FC HEV and FC PHEV ..................................................................................................... 8 Contribution of Fuel Cell Technology Progress .............................................................................................. 11 Results: Impact of Fuel Cell Technologies ................................................................................................. 12 Conclusions ..................................................................................................................................................... 17 References ....................................................................................................................................................... 17 Appendix ......................................................................................................................................................... 18 Figures Figure 1. Process for running and analyzing large-scale simulations ................................................................... 3 Figure 2. FC HEV powertrain sizing algorithm .................................................................................................... 4 Figure 3. FC PHEV powertrain sizing algorithm ................................................................................................. 5 Figure 4. Specific power and power density for fuel cell systems ........................................................................ 5 Figure 5. Fuel cell system efficiency .................................................................................................................... 6 Figure 6. Fuel cell system and electric-machine power for midsize FC HEVs .................................................... 7 Figure 7. Fuel cell system power and usable battery energy for midsize FC PHEVs ........................................... 7 Figure 8. Battery energy as a function of vehicle mass for midsize FC PHEVs................................................... 8 Figure 9. Gasoline equivalent fuel consumption for midsize FC HEVs ............................................................... 8 Figure 10. Gasoline equivalent fuel consumption and electrical consumption for midsize FC PHEVs (all values are CD+CS) .................................................................................................................................. 9 Figure 11. Gasoline equivalent fuel consumption for midsize power-split HEVs compared with same- year, same-case midsize FC HEVs. ............................................................................................................... 9 Figure 12. Gasoline equivalent fuel consumption for midsize FC HEVs compared with same-year, same-case midsize gasoline HEVs (left) and reference case midsize gasoline HEVs (right) ...................... 10 Figure 13. Manufacturing costs of midsize fuel cell vehicles ............................................................................. 10 Figure 14. Manufacturing costs of midsize FC HEVs compared with same-year conventional gasoline vehicles ........................................................................................................................................................ 11 iii Figure 15. Incremental manufacturing costs of fuel cell vehicles (left) and all powertrains (right) compared with manufacturing costs of reference conventional gasoline vehicle as a function of fuel consumption ................................................................................................................................................. 11 Figure 16. Autonomie model of an FCEV .......................................................................................................... 12 Figure 17. Impact of fuel cell and hydrogen technologies on FCEV mass ......................................................... 13 Figure 18. Variation in fuel cell power requirement with respect to the changes expected in fuel cell and hydrogen systems ......................................................................................................................................... 13 Figure 19. Reduction in onboard hydrogen requirement .................................................................................... 14 Figure 20. Assumptions on fuel cell system efficiency and cost ........................................................................ 14 Figure 21. Variation in cost of fuel cell stack from technology progress ........................................................... 15 Figure 22. Impact of technology on hydrogen storage costs .............................................................................. 15 Figure 23. Impact of fuel cell and hydrogen technologies on FCEV cost ........................................................... 16 Figure 24. Impact of fuel cell and hydrogen technologies on lifecycle cost of FCEVs ...................................... 16 Figure 25. Impact of technology progress on the cost of driving an FCEV ....................................................... 17 Tables Table 1. Fuel cell system assumptions .................................................................................................................. 6 Table 2. Hydrogen storage assumptions ............................................................................................................... 6 iv Executive Summary This study evaluates the fuel consumption and cost of ownership for fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). Many technologies applicable to vehicles are expected to improve over the next three decades. These changes could alter the vehicle characteristics and in turn affect their fuel consumption and cost. The assumptions on the progress of various technologies is based on a DOE baseline and scenario analysis (BaSce) (Moawad et al. 2016), which compiles such information from various sources including national laboratories, government agencies, and advisory groups from automotive industry. This report is a closer look at the effects of fuel cell efficiency and hydrogen tank weight. Vehicle weight is the primary concern for FCEVs. Present technology aims at storing hydrogen at high pressure in onboard storage tanks. Such tanks are heavy since they must withstand high pressure and survive minor accidents typical in automobile usage. As a result, a tank that stores about five kilograms of hydrogen could weigh over 100 kilograms (kg). The efficiency of fuel cells is already higher than many prime movers used in the automotive industry. Further efficiency improvements could reduce the amount of hydrogen that must be stored onboard, which in turn will reduce storage system weight. Improvements in efficiency and reductions in weight are usually achieved by using relatively expensive materials, which increase vehicle cost. Several factors are involved in determining if and when a technology can gain acceptance in the automotive sector. Initial costs, operating costs, environmental aspects, and convenience all play significant roles. In this analysis, we focus on the cost of the technology. By combining initial and operating costs into a metric named levelized cost of ownership, the real cost of a vehicle can be compared. This methodology is explained later in the report. DOE has developed technology targets as benchmarks for technology development. These targets are a combination of parameters, such as efficiency, weight, volume, and cost. While the industry might be able to meet some aspects of these goals by itself, DOE research and development effort is needed to achieve all the goals. Many of the vehicle technologies have synergies that help achieve the vehicle level goals. For example, light-weighting of the chassis helps reduce losses in all kinds of vehicles. This study focuses on the following two questions: (1) What levels of technology are needed for fuel cells to be economically viable on their own merit, and (2) If improvements in other vehicle technologies are also considered, can FCEVs become economically viable at lower technology levels? Technology levels are expected to improve over the years, as explained in the body of this paper. This study shows that by year 2030, if fuel cell technologies progress as expected, the cost of owning and driving an FCEV will decrease by 17% to 43 cents per mile, and will be comparable to present