System Overview

References

Fuel Cell Systems Explained,

Explained James Larminie and Andrew
Dicks, 2nd edition, John Wiley & Sons, 2003.
Solar Electricity, 2nd edition, edited by Tomas Markvart,
J h Wil
John
Wiley & Sons,
S
2003
Modern Electric, Hybrid Electric, and Fuel Cell Vehicles,
M. Ehsani, Y. Gao, A. Emadi, CRC Press; 2nd Ed, 2003.

Gasoline vs Electricity Power/Energy

Energy Density of Petrol : 12,500 Wh/kg
Battery
T
Type

Cost
$ per Wh

Wh/kgg

Joules/kgg

Wh/liter

Lead-acid

$0.17

41

146,000

100

Alkaline longlife

$0.19

110

400,000

320

Carbon-zinc

$0.31

36

130,000

92

NiMH

$0.99

95

340,000

300

NiCad

$1.50

39

140,000

140

Lithium-ion

$4.27

128

460,000

230

Electric Vehicles
Electric Vehicles (EVs) use batteries to power an electric
drive (motor/generator).
Advantages:
It is clean, no direct pollutant emission from the
vehicle
Quiet, fast driving responses
Regenerative braking to reduce energy loss
Issues:
Ranges are relatively short.
Large battery packs are expensive
Charging time is long (fast charging shortens battery
life)
Lack of infrastructure to support charging (grid
support for fast home charging and construction of
charging stations): This is rapidly changing

Regenerative Braking
Regenerative Braking: When the driver
brakes, or downhill cruising, the motor
becomes a generator, converting the kinetic
energy of the vehicle to electricity to charge
the battery.
Dynamic braking: Converting the kinetic
energy to heating using circuits.
circuits The
generated heat can be used for heating the
car. Faster than regenerative braking.
Traditional
T diti
lb
brakes:
k
The
Th kinetic
ki ti energy is
i
wasted entirely, higher braking torque.
y
are designed
g
to combine
Control systems
these two or three braking systems.

GE Smart Grid Street

EV Charging Station

Chicago Solar-Powered
Chi
S l P
d
EV Charging Booth

California
EV Charging Station

Coulomb Charging Stations

at DTE Headquarters, Detroit

Solar Cars
(Not very good looking)
(Passenger) Solar Cars
Taiwan, 550lbs with seats, (claimed) a few
hours of sunlight to recharge its batteries for
3 hours of driving, $24,600

University of Michigan
(Racing) Solar Car
(reached 105 mph, June 2010)

Power Conversion
f Battery
for
B
Ch i
Charging
Solar Panels

Battery
Pack

Power
P
Conditioning
Motor/generator

EV/PHEV
Charger

EV Powertrain

H brid Electric Vehicles

Hybrid
Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) combine
two power/energy sources:
the internal combustion engine and
battery (ultra- capacitor, flywheel)
the fuel cell and battery
Electric drive: motor/generator

Advantages
g of HEVs
Improved Fuel Economy:
1 5 2 times
1.5
ti
off mile
il per gallon
ll
beyond
b
d
conventional IC engine vehicles
Quieter than IC Engines:
Smooth start and fast response from battery power.
Reduced Emission from IC engines
Longer Ranger than Pure EVs
Retains the convenience of gasoline fuelling stations
Smaller battery sizes (and costs)
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles enjoy further
advantages of using cheaper grid electricity

How HEVs Improve Fuel Economy

Regenerative braking: Reduce energy loss.
loss
Avoid low efficiency operating ranges of IC
engines, such as low speeds, fast acceleration,
etc. Engines can run at their optimal efficiency
points and let the battery
p
y accommodate
torque fluctuations.
Simplified powertrains: Smaller engine
engine, much
simplified transmissions, reduced weights
(except for the heavy battery packs).

Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle Powertrain

Toyota Prius Powertrain

GM Chevy Volt Powertrain

Operation Modes of Volt Powertrain