Ford Debuts Fuel Cell-Powered P2000 Sedan
6 January 1999
Ford Debuts Fuel Cell-Powered P2000 Sedan
DETROIT, Jan. 6 -- The newest member of Ford Motor Company's
ultra energy-efficient P2000 family is a true zero-emission vehicle,
powered by advanced hydrogen fuel cells.
"A direct hydrogen fuel cell offers real promise as a zero-emission
vehicle with competitive performance and driving range," said Bill Powers,
vice president -- Research. "Fuel cells have several advantages over
batteries, which currently have range and durability limits. Hydrogen, on the
other hand, is a renewable resource."
"However, many challenges remain, including packaging, development of a
hydrogen supply infrastructure and affordability compared with conventional
vehicles," he added.
The fuel cell P2000 is designed to achieve the performance of today's Ford
Taurus, which goes from 0 to 60 mph in 12 seconds. The fuel cell stack and
electric drivetrain are targeted to achieve the equivalent of 90 horsepower.
Ford is researching the vehicle's fuel cells in partnership with Ballard
Power Systems of Canada, the fuel cell industry's technology leader, and
DaimlerChrysler AG. Fuel cells are energy conversion devices that generate
electricity from hydrogen and oxygen without combustion. Hydrogen fuel, which
can be made from either natural gas or methanol, is electrochemically combined
with oxygen from the air to produce electricity. The only emission from the
fuel cell stack is water vapor.
The research car's electric power comes from the latest generation Proton
Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells, considered the most promising for
automotive application of three current types of fuel cells. The other two
are Phosphoric Acid fuel cells and Solid Oxide fuel cells.
Each PEM fuel cell is composed of many cells, each having two electrodes
(anode and cathode) with a polymer electrolyte compressed between the two
electrodes. The electrodes are electronically conductive and in contact with
a thin catalyst layer (typically platinum) embedded in the polymer electrolyte
surface to facilitate the conversion reactions. Single fuel cells are bundled
into a fuel cell stack to produce enough power to propel a vehicle.
Fuel cells have a theoretic maximum efficiency of 83 percent, but the
practical efficiency ranges from 50 percent to 60 percent -- a little more
than twice as efficient as an internal combustion engine.
Ford's fuel cell research and development program with the U.S. Department
of Energy has helped focus current research efforts. Two concept vehicle
designs were studied, using a pure fuel cell-powered vehicle and battery-
augmented fuel cell-powered vehicle.
Three vehicle sizes were included, representing small, midsize and van-
size vehicles. In each case, customer expectations for vehicle performance
(including acceleration, throttle response, gradeability, range and startup
time) determined the power and drivetrain requirements.
"The results show that packaging either a pure fuel cell or battery-
augmented fuel cell power system is challenging, increasing in difficulty as
the size of the vehicle decreases," Powers said. "When ground-up vehicle
designs are used, we get better packaging because of less restrictions on
available space."
When compared to the pure fuel cell design, the battery-augmented design
offered better acceleration but required a more complicated design, including
battery cooling and converters. In addition, the battery-augmented vehicle
weighed slightly more, which lowered its fuel economy.
Researchers determined that the safety risks of hydrogen as a vehicle fuel
compare favorably with other vehicle fuels such as gasoline, propane and
natural gas. Studies also show that hydrogen can be cost-competitive with
gasoline on a cost-per-mile-driven basis if generated by small, factory-built
steam reformer or electrolyzer appliances capable of supporting up to 100
vehicles. These small appliances would avoid a large-scale capital investment
in the short run and offer flexibility in the size and location of refueling
stations.
The P2000 program is associated with Ford's participation in the
Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles, which aims to develop an ultra
energy-efficient midsize car with up to triple current fuel economy. PNGV is
a collaboration among Ford, General Motors, DaimlerChrysler AG, the U.S.
Department of Energy and others. The Canadian government also supports fuel
cell research.
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