Fuel Cell and Battery Propulsion System – the Balance

Authors

W. H. Pettit BS, D. A. Masten PhD, C. E. Freese V. MS, M. Bork MS, M. M. Mann MS,
General Motors Company, Pontiac, USA

Year

2019

Print Info

Fortschritt-Berichte VDI, Reihe 12, Nr. 811

Summary

General Motors (GM) is committed to delivering electrified vehicles and supporting its vision of zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion. In support, a portfolio of electrified vehicles is being developed, starting with the Chevrolet Bolt EV. Battery electric vehicles provide unmatched efficiency and performance. However, some applications require additional range and shorter refueling times. Therefore, a complete electrified portfolio also includes fuel cell technology. GM has been developing fuel cell vehicles since its first prototype in 1966. Renewable energy resources are supporting a growing electrified vehicle fleet but introduce new challenges to balance grid energy supply and demand. Hydrogen storage is a necessary pathway to buffer grid energy, while supporting FCEVs and a mature hydrogen infrastructure. As emission standards become increasingly more stringent and renewable energy dominates the modern electric grid, electrified vehicle adoption is expected to accelerate. This will extend beyond today’s traditional automotive applications and will include larger, commercially-oriented vehicles, where total cost of ownership is an overriding priority. Serving these customers requires a unique balance between fuel cell and battery capacity that is tuned to the specific application. These two propulsion system elements are complementary and can be configured to maximize customer value. The seamless combination of these technologies will provide an exceptional customer experience in performance, desired range, acceptable refuel/recharge time, optimized efficiency, and various levels of autonomy/interactive capability. This paper addresses certain key considerations for balancing battery and fuel cell elements of advanced propulsion systems, over a range of customer applications, including larger commercial vehicles. Implications on cost of ownership and infrastructure maturity are briefly discussed.