Nissan Begins Driving Tests of a Methanol Fuel Cell Vehicle Tokyo – Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. announced that it has recently developed and begun driving tests of a fuel cell vehicle equipped with a methanol reformer to generate hydrogen from methanol as the fuel. This new vehicle has resulted from Nissan's vigorous R&D program aimed at the development of various types of alternative-fuel vehicles and low-pollution vehicles in order to address global environmental concerns. Nissan's newly developed fuel cell vehicle is equipped with a methanol reformer that produces hydrogen through the use of a catalyst to induce chemical reactions between methanol and water. With this onboard fuel cell system, only methanol in the form of a liquid fuel needs to be supplied, making the system highly practical as an automotive powertrain for near-future application. (Note)A fuel cell is a device for directly tapping electricity generated by reacting hydrogen and oxygen . Fuel cells have attracted a great deal of attention as clean power sources because they produce only water as emissions. There are two options for fueling of fuel cells. One is to directly use hydrogen stored on vehicles and the other is to produce hydrogen by reforming methanol or other carbon-based fuel stored on vehicles. Another advantage of this system is that it produces virtually no nitrogen oxides (NOx) because the methanol reforming temperature is markedly lower than the combustion temperature in conventional gasoline and diesel engines. Moreover, hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions are also kept to low levels, making it possible to obtain exhaust gas as clean as the air. Furthermore, methanol is also highly advantageous as an alternative form of energy because it can be produced relatively easily from natural gas and other sources. This methanol fuel cell vehicle adopts a high-efficiency neodymium magnet synchronous traction motor combined with lithium-ion batteries. These same cutting-edge technologies are used on the R'nessa EV that has already been commercialized and on the Tino Hybrid that is now undergoing driving tests on public roads. This enables the vehicle to achieve optimum electric power control by switching between a fuel cell-powered driving mode and a battery-powered driving mode depending on the operating conditions. In addition to the inherent high efficiency of the fuel cell, the vehicle's kinetic energy is also efficiently recovered during regenerative braking to enhance the energy efficiency of the entire system substantially. A fuel cell vehicle is expected to reduce fuel economy to one third of that of a gasoline-powered vehicle in the future as its systems are made more efficient, lightweight and compact. Nissan intends to push ahead with further R&D work aimed at commercializing this methanol fuel cell vehicle in the future. The major features of the methanol fuel cell vehicle are outlined below. (1) Exhaust gas as clean as the air A fuel cell itself is essentially a clean power source because it emits only water as a byproduct of electrochemical reactions. When methanol is reformed, the burner that supplies heat to the reformer emits exhaust gas, but the use of a catalyst in the conversion process achieves highly efficient combustion at low temperatures. As a result, since virtually no NOx, CO, HC or other harmful substances are emitted, the exhaust gas is expected to be as clean as the air. (2) Methanol is a promising candidate as a substitute energy for petroleum. Methanol is produced from natural gas, which is expected to be a substitute fuel for petroleum in the future. It is looked to as a promising alternative fuel candidate, as it will be possible to produce methanol from renewable energy sources in the future, including biomass, hydrogen gas and carbon dioxide gas. (3) Substantial improvement in fuel economy through optimum electric power control The methanol fuel cell system provides electric power control by switching between a fuel cell-powered driving mode and a battery-powered driving mode according to the operating conditions. A neodymium magnet synchronous traction motor, lithium-ion batteries and other high-performance components have been used to achieve a more compact system that delivers enhanced efficiency. Moreover, the motor serves as a generator during regenerative braking to produce electricity for charging the batteries. This selective and optimal use of onboard power sources further enhances the practical efficiency of the methanol fuel cell system to achieve a substantial improvement in overall energy efficiency. Anticipated Q&A Concerning the Fuel Cell Vehicle VEHICLE Q1. What exactly do the driving tests entail? A1. A fuel cell represents a completely new type of automotive power unit for which we have no practical experience. We are carrying out extensive evaluations to ascertain first of all whether a fuel cell can actually be used as an automotive propulsion system. The driving tests are one part of this evaluation program. The purpose of these tests is to identify early on any problems and technological issues that will have to be addressed in implementing a fuel cell in an actual vehicle, in addition to confirming that the system can meet essential vehicle requirements for fuel economy, exhaust emissions, power performance and other attributes. Q2. What stage of the development process is the displayed vehicle at now? Which model will be the base vehicle for the commercialization of a production vehicle? Will it be the R'nessa? A2. (In addition to the information given in A1 above) We feel that the fuel cell has the greatest future potential for environmental benefits, but all of the technological issues have still not been identified. As the first step, we have developed this vehicle for the purpose of identifying issues involved in vehicle implementation and demonstrating the potential of fuel cell technology. The next step will be to develop a prototype vehicle by a target date of 2000, which will have the entire fuel cell system mounted under the floor in order to evaluate its practicality. Toward that end, we are now developing and evaluating the system components, including the methanol reformer, with major emphasis placed on reducing their size and enhancing their efficiency so that the entire fuel cell system can be mounted under the floor. At this point, this vehicle is just for driving tests and, we have not selected any model as the base vehicle for the commercialization phase. Q3. Does the system have to be so large in size? A3. The current system is large, but as the next step, we plan to reduce the components to a size that will allow the entire fuel cell system to be mounted under the floor. As a result, interior spaciousness and comfort will not have to be sacrificed. FUEL CELL Q4. How large is the fuel cell and how much does it weigh? A4. The fuel cell vehicle announced is fitted with a fuel cell that was purchased for reference purposes from Ballard Power Systems of Canada. It has a net volume of 27 liters (7.02 gallons), weighs 41 kg (90.2 pounds) and produces maximum power of approximately 10 kW. (more) Q5. Which company manufactured the fuel cell? A5. This vehicle is fitted with a fuel cell that was purchased for reference purposes from Ballard Power Systems of Canada. We have not decided at this point whether the fuel cell system for prototype stage and for use on production vehicles will be manufactured in-house or procured from a supplier. OTHER SYSTEMS Q6. Which company manufactured the lithium-ion batteries? Do the batteries have a lithium-manganate positive electrode like the batteries used on the Tino Hybrid? A6. This experimental vehicle features our existing EV and HEV battery technology which we simply adapted in its present form. In the future, it will be necessary to develop a battery specifically for application to fuel cell vehicles. The batteries used on this experimental vehicle have a cobalt electrode. At the next stage, we plan to use a lithium-manganate positive electrode similar to the batteries on the Tino Hybrid. The current batteries were made by Sony Corporation, but we have not yet selected a battery supplier for the next stage. Q7. Which company manufactured the methanol reformer? A7. We developed the methanol reformer in-house with the technical cooperation of Mitsubishi Kakoki Kaisha, Ltd. Q8. Was the air compressor developed by Nissan? A8. We developed it jointly with Tochigi Fuji Industrial Co., Ltd. Q9. Under what sort of conditions is the vehicle powered by the fuel cell and the battery pack, respectively? A9. With this experimental vehicle, the electricity produced by the fuel cell is initially stored in the battery pack located under the floor and then supplied to the traction motor according to the driver's accelerator inputs. During steady-speed travel up to a speed of 60 km/h (37.2 mph), the vehicle is propelled almost entirely by the fuel cell's power output that is supplied to the traction motor through the battery pack. At other times, such as during rapid acceleration, power is also supplied from the battery pack to assist its propulsion. As the next step, we plan to increase the output of the fuel cell system so that it can power the vehicle entirely with the exception of a very small operating range. GENERAL TECHNICAL QUESTIONS Q10. Does a fuel cell have to be combined with a battery pack and a traction motor? A10. There are systems in which a fuel cell is the sole power source. However, such systems cannot use the traction motor during deceleration to capture regenerative braking energy. Therefore, we think that a system which combines a fuel cell with a battery pack and a traction motor provides higher efficiency. Q11. How do CO2 emissions compare with conventional gasoline-powered vehicles? A11. Our target for the future is to reduce CO2 emissions to less than one-third of the level emitted by gasoline-powered vehicles. Q12. What is the driving range of the vehicle? A12. With roughly the same-size fuel tank as that of a gasoline-powered vehicle, the driving range is approximately 1.5 times longer. OTHER QUESTIONS Q13. When do you plan to commercialize the vehicle? A13. We are projecting a time frame of 2003 to 2005. We plan to complete the development of the necessary technologies by 2003. Q14. Is Nissan developing the fuel cell vehicle alone? Will the development work be done jointly with Renault or will Renault provide any technical support? A14. We are currently developing the vehicle independently. At this point, possible collaboration with Renault will be under investigation. Q15. Will a Nissan fuel-cell vehicle be tested or sold in North America? A15. No decision has been made as yet as to whether such a vehicle will be tested or sold outside Japan. Naturally, we will be investigating other markets worldwide to see if fuel-cell vehicles will be practical and beneficial in them.