Ford’s Hydrogen Plug-In Hybrid
February 1, 2007 by Admin
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Ford Motor Co. revealed its own version of a plug-in hybrid — with a twist called the Flexible Series Hybrid Edge at the Washington Auto Show. It combines the convenience of plugging in your car with a hydrogen fuel cell.
The concept car represents the latest offering from automakers hoping to stake a claim to the next generation of highly efficient, alternative automobiles.
Gerhard Schmidt, Ford’s vice president of research and advanced engineering, said the vehicle, based on the Ford Edge crossover platform, gives the company “the ultimate in flexibility in researching advanced propulsion technology.”
“We could take the fuel cell power system out and replace it with a downsized diesel, gasoline engine or any other powertrain connected to a small electric generator to make electricity like the fuel cell does now,” Schmidt said.
For the first 25 miles, Ford’s plug-in hybrid Edge operates in ‘battery only’ mode, moving at speeds of up to 85 miles per hour. It seamlessly shifts to the fuel cell mode when the battery is depleted to 40 percent, which recharges the battery for 200 more miles of range.
The 336-volt lithium ion battery pack can be fully charged overnight — in about eight hours — with either a 110 or 220 volt outlet and the engine produces gas mileage of about 41 miles per gallon. Drivers who travel less than 50 miles per day would get more than 80 miles per gallon, Ford said.
The combined plug-in-hydrogen vehicle offers a new way to address some of the challenges of hydrogen fuel cells. The technology could provide a sustainable energy source through the mixture of hydrogen and oxygen, but it faces a number of hurdles with its size, weight, cost and lack of a fueling infrastructure.
Hydrogen has to be obtained from some other source, like water or a fossil fuel. The former would provide emission free energy if wind or solar power were to be used to split water, but the costs are still high. The later is less expensive but emits some pollution in the process of getting hydrogen from a fuel like natural gas.
Ford reduced the fuel cell’s size, weight and cost in half and said their approach would double the lifespan of the fuel cell’s stack. Mujeeb Ijaz, Ford’s manager for fuel cell vehicle engineering, said the changes were “a great step to commercializing” the vehicle.
Ford has not committed to a date when the vehicle would be available. The automaker said the vehicles cost millions of dollars each and commercialization remains hindered by a lack of a hydrogen infrastructure and the cost of lithium-ion batteries.
[...] Gerhard Schmidt, Ford s vice president of research and advanced engineering, said the vehicle, based on the Ford Edge crossover platform, gives the company the ultimate in flexibility in researching advanced propulsion technology. … …more [...]
[...] Gerhard Schmidt, Ford s vice president of research and advanced engineering, said the vehicle, based on the Ford Edge crossover platform, gives the company the ultimate in flexibility in researching advanced propulsion technology. … …more [...]
[...] Gerhard Schmidt, Ford s vice president of research and advanced engineering, said the vehicle, based on the Ford Edge crossover platform, gives the company the ultimate in flexibility in researching advanced propulsion technology. … …more [...]
[...] Gerhard Schmidt, Ford s vice president of research and advanced engineering, said the vehicle, based on the Ford Edge crossover platform, gives the company the ultimate in flexibility in researching advanced propulsion technology. … …more [...]