Ford debuts fuel cell-powered P2000 sedan

DETROIT, - 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.