The current fuel-cell project, supported by the U.S. Army?s TACOM division in Warren, also has the backing of General Motors and Ballard Power Systems. The vehicle runs on six, 12-volt batteries integrated with a 1.2 kilowatt fuel cell to operate the batter pack. The fuel used is compressed hydrogen.
?It serves as a mobile lab platform in support of fuel cell engineering curriculum to showcase technology to students and the public,?? said K. Joel Berry, head of mechanical engineering at Kettering. ?The vehicle is street legal in Michigan.?
Kettering ? a sponsor of GLIMAeast ? has earned a reputation as one of the national leaders attempting to resolve the remaining technical barriers keeping hydrogen cars from becoming commercially viable.
“Kettering is a major player,” said Jennifer Gangi of Fuel Cells 2000 in Washington, D.C., a leading nonprofit group in the fuel cell industry.
Mass-produced hydrogen cars should become a reality within the next five to 15 years, industry leaders say. The only question is whether the public will embrace fuel-cell powered vehicles in the same way they have embraced hybrid gasoline electric cars like the Toyota Prius. Only time will tell.
But certainly fuel-cell powered vehicles have caught the Army?s attention. Berry said the Army wants four more of these driving laboratories to study different options for battery storage. Instead of using the lead acid batteries of today, Kettering may experiment with higher density batteries, like lithium hydride. Another possibility is an ultra capacitor that would eliminate batteries all together.
?We?re also looking at different storage media for the hydrogen fuel,?? he said. ?For metal hydride, we?re working with Ovonics. For chemical hydrides we?re working with Millennium out of New Jersey.?
