POWERED BY HYDROGEN: LOOKING TO THE FUTURE WITH THE FORD FOCUS C-MAX H2 INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE - Speak Easy - Off Topics - Team Focus - Come On In And Enjoy The Company!
Ford Research Vehicle Points the Way Towards Viable Fuel Cell Technology
STUTTGART, July 13, 2004 – Ford engineers have equipped the Ford Focus C-MAX with a prototype hydrogen internal combustion engine (H 2 ICE). The vehicle was unveiled today at the Research Conference of the German Car Manufacturer Association (VDA) in Stuttgart, which was attended by the German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and other important political figures.
The Ford Research Center at Aachen (FFA) has developed this technology demonstrator to analyse its technical and environmental potential. On the way towards achieving sustainable mobility, Ford regards the hydrogen internal combustion engine as an important step towards a hydrogen-fuelled future where fuel cells delivering clean electric power is the ultimate goal.
Before the technical and economical maturity of fuel cell vehicles is achieved, it is important to establish a commercial demand for hydrogen fuel. This will help to establish a hydrogen fuelling infrastructure and, as more vehicles need hydrogen, so this network of fuelling stations will grow.
It is likely that the commercial viability of the hydrogen-fuelled internal combustion engine will be established earlier than the fuel cell, since the appeal of this type of engine has developed over a period of more than 100 years.
However, this does not mean that the modifications required to produce the prototype hydrogen internal combustion engine are trivial. The base engine is a 2.3 litre four-cylinder gasoline engine producing 110 hp (82kW). The Ford Focus C-MAX with H 2 ICE differs from the base vehicle mainly in the packaging of the engine. The battery has been moved from the engine compartment to underneath the back seat; additionally, there are special safety systems and sensors to suit the different fuel tank technology. The H 2 ICE power train also requires some additional electronic systems and components such as two intercoolers.
The test vehicle uses compressed gaseous hydrogen stored at 350 bar in three tanks. Two are located in the trunk and the third one is installed underfloor. Two pressure regulators reduce the gas pressure down to 5.5 bar at the engine manifold. Altogether the three tanks accommodate a capacity of 119 litres, which equates to 2.75 kg of hydrogen and provides a range of about 200 km.
A supercharger enables the Ford Focus C-MAX H 2 ICE to have similar performance to the corresponding gasoline engine. By compressing the intake air, the supercharger increases the mass of the fuel mixture in the combustion chamber. During compression the air is heated and it is then cooled by the two intercoolers, of which one is located behind the front bumper and the other in the middle of the engine compartment. The cooled and compressed air is fed to the combustion engine to combine with the hydrogen in the cylinders.
The hydrogen/air-ratio of the Ford Focus C-MAX H 2 ICE can be adjusted in a wide range since the ignitability of hydrogen in air varies from four to 70 per cent by volume. This means that both very lean and very rich hydrogen/air mixtures are possible, which enables the optimal control of fuel consumption and NO x emissions to be achieved.
Another important project leading towards a sustainable hydrogen-based future is the Clean Energy Partnership (CEP) in Berlin which is funded by the German Government. Ford is one of the nine different industry partners which participate in the three-year-project. In the framework of the CEP, Ford will provide three fuel cell vehicles for fleet customers.
The objective of the CEP is to prove the suitability of the mobile application of hydrogen for everyday use. Hydrogen is considered as an environmentally friendly energy source since it can be generated from solar, wind and water, i.e. renewable energy sources. Compared with the hydrogen ICE, the fuel cell achieves higher efficiency and it does not emit any greenhouse or other exhaust gases.
"The test vehicle uses compressed gaseous hydrogen stored at 350 bar in three tanks. Two are located in the trunk and the third one is installed underfloor. Two pressure regulators reduce the gas pressure down to 5.5 bar at the engine manifold. Altogether the three tanks accommodate a capacity of 119 litres, which equates to 2.75 kg of hydrogen and provides a range of about 200 km."
Anyone want to calculate the potential explosive force of that much compressed hydrogen. And that 119 litres is what it takes to go 200Km. I can go 1000KM on 50 litres of renewable biodiesel.
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A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams...John Barrymore
there are problems with all sorts of alternative fuels. I know there are people in Maine that run on vegetable oil (in their diesel engines). However, all you are really doing is shifting one bad to another. Diesel fuel is a great alternative but the issues that are related to it, mainly maintenance and what not are a tad more overbearing in the states. Hydrogen though being the most abundant element is not a very abundant free element and only through catalysis or as one of your articles mentions thorough natural gas cracking can you obtain it reasonably. However, it is simply putting the weight of a massive consumer economy on another source of fuel to change over to a different fuel. There aren't enough stockpiles and the rate of renewal isn't high enough to keep up with the demand for fuel as the US poses. Granted the US is a fuel glutton. Basically what I'm saying here is that the only truly renewable source of energy right now is the sun practically, and even that isn't reliable.
RPIJG wrote: there are problems with all sorts of alternative fuels. I know there are people in Maine that run on vegetable oil (in their diesel engines). However, all you are really doing is shifting one bad to another. Diesel fuel is a great alternative but the issues that are related to it, mainly maintenance and what not are a tad more overbearing in the states. Hydrogen though being the most abundant element is not a very abundant free element and only through catalysis or as one of your articles mentions thorough natural gas cracking can you obtain it reasonably. However, it is simply putting the weight of a massive consumer economy on another source of fuel to change over to a different fuel. There aren't enough stockpiles and the rate of renewal isn't high enough to keep up with the demand for fuel as the US poses. Granted the US is a fuel glutton. Basically what I'm saying here is that the only truly renewable source of energy right now is the sun practically, and even that isn't reliable.
There are a couple of reasons why Biodiesel is a good alternative.
1) can be put through existing distribution channels.
2) runs in diesels which are substantially more efficient than gasoline engines.
3) Many different sources of feedstock. Algal farms, oil seed crops etc. All are renewable and not a cent of the money goes to the middle east.
4) Zero sulfur in biodiesel so key pollutant eliminated.
5) Biodiesel is not toxic and is safer than petroleum based diesel.
6) Carbon neutral.
We have a couple of VW Jetta TDi that run on biodiesel in various concentrations. Maintenance costs are reduced not increased. Longevity is also increased.
Solar/wind is great for fixed installations. I'd rather just use my solar panels which generate electricity and apply it to my house's requirements than lose energy by adding a step and recovering hydrogen.
Besides. I've driven the Focus TDCi and would have one tomorrow if it was available here.
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A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams...John Barrymore
I, Personally am so extremely interested in the Biodiesel option.
The hydrogen, for what I can see, doesn't seem to offer much by the way of true efficiency. It is not only economy we have to go for here, but the serious situation we have with our atmosphere and the obvious and severely increasing problem we have with pollution in general.
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despite the numbers provided on hydrogen isolation hydrogen is by far cleaner than biodiesel. Several leading chemical companies have produced industrial quantities of hydrogen using new catalysis methods that are cleaner and provide useful byproduct materials(ie items typically purchased by the chemical industry already). Biodiesel is just the most convenient method, not necessarily the cleanest.
