58 a longer lifetime, so fuel cells must be integrated with humidifier modules to achieve optimum performance. A fuel-cell humidifier consists of various parts, differing between models. The conventional humidifier has an input channel for incoming hot gases and an output channel for outgoing cool gases. Based on the type of humidifier selected, a separation membrane, plate or tube will separate the hot and cool gases. The lifetime of a PEM fuel-cell humidifier is the vital parameter and it depends on its operating parameters and efficiency, with the maximum being 18,000 to 20,000 hours. Automotive engineering Intelligent Energy has developed a hydrogen fuel cell for passenger vehicles with a heat exchanger that is 30% smaller than current designs. The 157 kW module is the first fuel-cell system created in the shape of an engine to simplify its integration into car designs. IE-DRIVE is a complete fuel-cell system in the shape of a traditional engine and it is designed to meet the low-bonnet requirements of passenger cars. It includes the fuel-cell stack, electronic control unit, heat exchanger and BoP. Intelligent Energy’s IE-DRIVE system is designed to give passenger-car manufacturers direct access to a smaller, more powerful turnkey and commercially viable hydrogen fuel cell. It has already been incorporated into a sports utility vehicle (SUV) provided by Changan UK as a demonstration. The module uses a patented, direct water-injection technology to reduce the size of the heat exchanger to 0.34 m², but it enables cruising at 130 km/h in peak temperatures and a speed of 90 km/h to be achieved when travelling up a long, steep hill. Having a small heat exchanger makes vehicle packaging much easier and benefits fuel-cell vehicle design, particularly in relation to bonnet height and improved driver visibility. The direct water-injection system has allowed Intelligent Energy to reduce the number of components and bill of materials, removing the need for a humidifier and related parts. Under full-scale, high-volume manufacturing conditions, Intelligent Energy predicts that its IE-DRIVE fuel-cell system will cost about $110 per kW by the end of the decade, making it less expensive than battery vehicles and comparable to ICE. The fuel cell was developed as part of the ESTHER project in the UK with the Changan R&D Centre, Lyra Electronics and bus maker Alexander Dennis. Changan provided essential support during the project, including the provision of three SUVs to enable fuel-cell testing. First hydrogen superyacht Project 821 is the world’s first hydrogen fuel-cell superyacht. Over the past five years, yacht maker Feadship in the Netherlands has been working on fuel-cell sources for a yacht measuring over 100 m long. One of the biggest hurdles was how to develop a reasonable way of storing compressed liquid hydrogen below deck at -253 C aboard a luxury yacht. Safely storing it on a vessel requires a double-walled, cryogenic storage tank in a dedicated room. It takes eight to 10 times more space to store hydrogen than its energy equivalent in diesel fuel. In total, the cryogenic fuel tank that holds 92 m3 (some 4 t) of hydrogen on Project 821, the 16 compact fuel cells, their switchboard connection to the DC electrical grid, and the vent stacks for the escaping water vapour added 4 m to the yacht’s original specification length. Importantly, the fuel cells developed for Project 821 can use the easier-tostore methanol, a liquid fuel, in ambient conditions. Steam reforms methanol into hydrogen before the electrochemical reaction in the fuel cell. However, even this amount of hydrogen is not enough to provide the power needed for a crossing. Instead, it is used to provide the ancillary power of the yacht. According to the Yacht Environmental Transparency Index (YETI), 70-78% of a yacht’s total energy use per year is to supply its hotel load, with heating and air conditioning the largest demands. Project 821 has an efficient waste heat recovery system from the fuel cells to heat everything from the pool to the ambient air temperature and floors in the guest bathrooms. Further savings in the hotel load will come from a Smart AC system connecting sensors to an energy management system. For longer travels or when pure hydrogen is unavailable, the electricity powering the 3,200 kW ABB pod drives come from MTU generators combusting hydroHVO, a second-generation biofuel that cuts harmful emissions by 90%. Deep insight | Hydrogen fuel cells July/August 2024 | E-Mobility Engineering A fuel-cell system in the shape of an ICE engine (Image courtesy of Intelligent Energy)
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