The Power of Balance
The promise of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles (FCVs) has drawn the world’s attention, and a great deal of investment, for many years now. The allure of FCVs lies in their potential to provide transportation with zero greenhouse gas emissions if the hydrogen fuel can be generated using renewable resources. In the basic FCV concept, hydrogen reacts with oxygen in the Fuel Cell to produce electricity.
Although a number of hurdles stand in the way of practical, affordable implementation of fuel cell technology, this concept may be commercially feasible in niche markets in the 2012 - 2017 timeframe and can potentially become a mainstream propulsion technology by 2022 – 2027.
Fuel cell vehicles can be designed without batteries. In such systems, the fuel cell engine powers the drive motor directly. However, some efficiency gains can be achieved by hybridizing the FCV. The battery can provide load leveling on the fuel cell and absorb regenerative braking energy.
The batteries in FCV applications are similar to those in HEV batteries and operate in a similar fashion.
The ALP Connection
ALP’s HEV battery pack/software module can be used in FCVs directly without major modifications. When FCVs are ready to enter the commercial market, ALP will have a range of mature battery pack products to supply the vehicle OEMs.
