GOLDEN – The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) said a seven-year study aimed at demonstrating and evaluating hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and the hydrogen-fueling infrastructure shows rapid progress is being made.
The “National Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Learning Demonstration Final Report” shows progress in extending vehicle driving ranges and increasing fuel cell durability, NREL said.
The report covered more than 500,000 individual vehicle trips totaling 3.6 million miles and 152,000 kilograms of hydrogen produced or dispensed.
“The project results show that fuel cell electric vehicles have advanced rapidly,” said Keith Wipke, acting manager of NREL’s Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Technologies Program and the report’s lead author.
“As vehicle manufacturers and other researchers worldwide continue to focus on the remaining challenges of balancing durability, cost and high-volume manufacture-ability, there is optimism that manufacturers will introduce FCEVs to the market within the next few years.”
DOE established interim targets for FCEVs in 2003 that included a 250-mile driving range, 2,000-hour fuel cell durability and a $3 per gallon gasoline equivalent for hydrogen production cost.
Results of the study showed at least one of four industry teams exceeded each of the targets, with a team achieving a 254-mile driving range and a team showing a projected average fuel cell stack durability of 2,521 hours.
Partners in the study included GM, Daimler, Hyundai-Kia, Ford, Shell, BP and Chevron.
For more information, visit www.nrel.gov.
