Project Title: Hydrogen Deployment and Safety in Transportation Applications
DRI Faculty: Alan Gertler (PI), Amber Broch
Dates: Aug. 2005 – Apr. 2008
Sponsor: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Collaborators: Washoe County RTC; Collier Technology
Total Budget: $513,987
Objectives: The purpose of this project is to explore functional requirements and use of hydrogen (H2) in transportation applications. This includes investigation into the various codes, standards, and other permitting safety requirements for H2 that would be enforced for the development of a H2 production facility, fueling facility, or testing facility in northern Nevada. Additionally, the fuel/engine systems of selected vehicles will be converted from compressed natural gas (CNG) to blends of H2 in CNG (called HCNG). The effects of these conversions on operational performance and emissions will be investigated.
Results/Conclusions: Two CNG-fueled buses were provided to DRI by the Washoe County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) from their Para-transit. These vehicles were equipped with Ford 5.4L V-8 engines that had been customized to operate on CNG. We converted one of these vehicles to operate on a blend of 30% H2 in CNG (v/v). Both road tests and chassis dynamometer tests were performed to compare the performance and emissions from these two vehicles. Results showed that the NOx emissions were reduced by 90% and the CO emissions were reduced by at least 80%. A supercharger included in the conversion resulted in no losses in performance from the less energy-dense blend fuel. However, the driving range of the vehicle is sacrificed by as much as 20%.
The testing results were also used to update NREL’s ADVISOR model, which enables vehicle simulations on drive-cycles to estimate the performance and emissions. Models for a 5.4L CNG vehicle, a 5.4L supercharged CNG vehicle, and a 5.4L HCNG-fueled vehicle were developed. The model results showed good correlation to the test results. The model enables further analysis of the effects of hybridization for each of the vehicles. On a typical route driving by RTC’s Para-transit fleet, hybridization could further reduced emissions by as much as 40%.
Additional investigations were made into codes and standards and other requirements for implementing hydrogen refueling stations or hydrogen testing facilities. A specific focus was made on development of this infrastructure in the Reno, NV area.
Presentations:
Brock, A., Gertler, A., Collier, K. Development and Testing of Hydrogen- Compressed Natural Gas Blend-Fueled Vehicle and ADVISOR Modeling; Poster presented at the 2008 Annual CRC Meeting and the 2008 National Hydrogen Association Conference
