The fuel cell converts chemical energy in form of hydrogen to electrical energy and is characterized by a high degree of efficiency. The public interest in fuel cells increased since the late 1980s. Today, several car manufacturers and their suppliers are researching in that field. Nevertheless there are a few drawbacks that make the fuel cell's break through in vehicles difficult. On the one hand the complex problem of establishing a hydrogen storage is further on not solved. And otherwise the inevitable hydrogen infrastructure is a long time coming. These intricacies associated with fuel cell development result in a decline of public interest for some years. The paper considers an alternative for increasing the energy savings potential by using a reformer-linked fuel cell APU (Auxiliary Power Unit). For that purpose, models of solitary fuel cells, stacks, periphery, reformer and DC converter were built and simulation runs were executed. The simulation results were compared to reference values of a conventional upper class vehicle. It is noticeable that the energy consumption of the fuel cell vehicle is lower at any time. However, it is in question if fuel cell APUs will establish itself against hybrid vehicular systems. Important characteristics like cycle stability, lifetime and cost remain unexplained. But there are further fields of application for fuel cell APUs like truck and aircraft technology. In addition the potential of reformer-linked fuel cell systems for the vehicle traction support will be to examine.
Potential of fuel cells with reformer in motor vehicles
Potenzial von Brennstoffzellen mit Reformer in Motorfahrzeugen
2008
11 Seiten, 6 Bilder, 7 Tabellen, 5 Quellen
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Englisch
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