California Air Resources Board
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California Air Resources Board |
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California Air Resources Board to Lease HICE VehiclesThe California Air Resources Board (ARB) has posted a notice of intent to award contracts for the lease of six vehicles that will lower the cost of using hydrogen. Hydrogen will be used in conventional engines, not fuel cells. This will expand to 37 the total number of hydrogen internal combustion engine (HICE) vehicles in California. Four of the hydrogen vehicles will be Toyota Priuses modified by Quantum Technologies to run on gaseous hydrogen. Other fleets that each uses five of these Quantum Priuses include the cities of Riverside, Burbank, Santa Ana, and Ontario. AQMD in Diamond Bar also uses five Quantum Priuses. This June 15, Santa Monica will start using five. Two Ford E450 HICE shuttle buses will also be leased by ARB. These buses can be configured to carry 11 to 17 passengers. The E450 uses a standard Ford V10 engine designed to run on gaseous hydrogen. The Ford E450 offers a range of 150 miles. Engines can not only be fueled by pure hydrogen, they can also be fueled by hydrogen blended with other fuels such as gasoline, diesel and natural gas. For example, the city of Vancouver will be using some buses with hydrogen blended with compressed natural gas (HCNG). In California, Thousand Palms has been an earlier leader in using HCNG. Three public companies are competing with HICE offerings: Ford, Quantum Technologies and BMW. In the heavy vehicle space, venture capital backed ISE Corporation is also competing. A number of smaller HICE specialty integrators also have offerings. Will we see a hydrogen vehicle for under $60,000? Only Ford knows that answer. The Ford Model U Concept is propelled by an internal combustion engine (ICE) that's optimized to run on hydrogen fuel instead of gasoline. The engine is supercharged and intercooled for maximum efficiency, power, and range. Its emission of all pollutants, including carbon dioxide, is nearly zero, and the engine is up to 25 percent more fuel-efficient than a typical gasoline engine. Ford could produce a production hydrogen vehicle at a reasonable price. They are unlikely to do it unless they see potential volumes and profits. If your priorities are performance and luxury, look at BMW. The 745h is their latest hydrogen powered vehicle. The 745h is powered by a 4.4-liter V8, and can use either hydrogen or premium unleaded gasoline. Running on hydrogen, the 745h produces 184 horsepower and can achieve a top speed of 133 mph. The cruising range is 190 miles. Added to the 400-mile range of the gasoline fuel tank, the 745h can go 600 miles between fill-ups. An Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) runs the 745h's power-consuming features. The APU operates on a PEM fuel cell that is independent of the engine. The APU power accessories like air conditioning and can be operated when the engine is shut off. The APU saves a gallon of gas for every 235 miles of city driving. HICE may provide for a cost-effective transition to clean hydrogen transportation. Eventually hydrogen fuel cells are expected to far more commercially successful than HICE because of range, energy efficiency and zero emissions. In actual use, the cities using the Quantum Hydrogen Priuses are experiencing a range of only 70 miles before needing to refuel. By contrast, Chula Vista drives its Honda fuel cell vehicle all the way to Torrance on one fill. Honda announced that its new Concept FCX will have a range of up to 350 miles. To comply with zero emission (ZEB) mandates, large public transit fleets have started buying hydrogen fuel cell buses. There are currently seven on the road in California. These comply with the zero emission regulations. Although HICE emits no greenhouse gases, HICE does emit some NOx; it does not comply with ZEB mandates. HCNG emissions are higher and include greenhouse gases. Ford is rumored to be working on a new HICE engine with lean burn technology that will produce zero emissions. Stay tuned. The California Air Resources Board intends to lease a total of 14 vehicles. Although six will be HICE, 8 are expected to be fuel cell. In fact, it intends to award the lease of one fuel cell vehicle to General Motors. In the coming months, ARB will announce the winning bidders for three additional hydrogen stations for the California Hydrogen Highway. Competition between HICE and fuel cell vehicles is lowering the cost of hydrogen vehicles. As more of these vehicles are on the road, there consumption of more fuel is lowering the cost of the fuel which in turn encourages more vehicles. One fleet at a time, the “chicken and egg” problem is being resolved. Instead we are starting to see vehicle manufacturers and hydrogen station providers engage in a race for early market leadership. For more information: Hydrogen Highway
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Copyright (c) 2006 OPTIMARK |
This same engine has been used in a large 40-foot hybrid hydrogen bus carrying hundreds of people daily at Sunline Transit in Thousand Palms. The range is greater on the larger bus because it uses an ISE hybrid drive system that stores braking energy in ultracapacitors.