Realizing the Dream: Greenhouse Gas Free Transportation Through the Application of Canada's Fuel Cell Technology

Abstract

Fuel cells (FCs) generate electrical power without combustion using electrochemical processes and therefore do not have to first convert the fuel to heat and shaft-power before electricity is produced. They are, therefore, high efficiency energy converters and unlike batteries are able to continuously provide electrical power as long as fuel and air are fed to the electrodes. Fuel cells are now of great interest to the automotive industry throughout the world (1). The most economic fuel for fuel cells is reformed natural gas that is favoured by the utility industry, but methanol (as well, ethanol is being proposed by a GM, Shell, Argonne study(2)) is one contender for fuel cells being developed for transportation. Several different fuel cell technologies exist. Recent developments in solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology suggest that SOFCs could more easily adapt to conventional gasoline and diesel fuels and are less prone to catalyst poisoning than other fuel cells such as the solid polymer electrolyte (PEM) type, often also called the proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell, being developed by Ballard in Canada. However, there remain significant development problems for SOFC technology related to the high operating temperatures (700 to 1000 deg C). In this paper, the range of fuel cell technologies now being developed will be reviewed since there is a convergence in the use of fuel cells for the production of power in distributed fixed systems and power sources for transportation. The factors that will determine the dominating technologies for automobile and truck propulsion in the future are the same as those currently in play. These factors are: performance, cost and convenience of the technologies. A common feature in these three factors is efficiency from which the environmental impact of the technology is largely determined. Electric propulsion in some form will ultimately be favoured over combustion systems because combustion systems are limited by fundamental thermodynamic factors that do not apply to the electric systems. Therefore, electric energy conversion of fuels by batteries, supercapacitors, and fuel cells is cheaper in fuel use and therefore more economical to the vehicle owners and produces less environmental impact. Furthermore, with deregulation of electric utilities in many parts of the world (3), serious concerns are being raised about the reliability of the electric grid. This paper will explore why there will be increased commercial incentives for joint ventures between the utilities and the automotive industry to develop new generations of electric and hybrid/electric vehicles and the supporting infrastructure. In some cases, the infrastructure will include the concepts of distributed generation. The "multiple use hybrid electric vehicle" (MUHEV) suggested by ESTCO in 1995 is a concept in which the power plant on the electric vehicle will also be used to feed electric power and heat into the home/electric power grid. The MUHEV concept could offer very significant benefits in flexibility and operational performance and make a significant contribution to reduction in greenhouse gas production in transportation.