Fuel cell-assisted truck completes cross-country trek

San Antonio -- May 26, 2005 -- A tractor-trailer truck with auxiliary systems powered by electricity from a fuel cell has successfully completed a cross-continent trip from California to Washington, D.C.

In laboratory evaluations at Southwest Research Institute^® (SwRI^®) in San Antonio prior to the trip, the truck achieved a 13 percent improvement in fuel economy.

The truck, owned and operated by SunLine Transit Agency in Thousand Palms, Calif., departed on May 17 for a 2,650-mile journey that ended on May 21 at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. The truck made the journey without a trailer.

The truck's primary propulsion system is a standard production 330-horsepower diesel engine. With funding from the U.S. Army TARDEC National Automotive Center, SwRI engineers converted the truck's water pump, radiator cooling fan, air compressor, air conditioning compressor and air conditioner condenser fan from engine-powered belts and pulleys to electric power.

Removing these "parasitic" loads from the engine and powering them electrically enables the engine's full motive power to propel the truck and increases the overall efficiency of the truck.

To power the accessories, SwRI integrated a fuel cell auxiliary power unit (APU) that is independent of the engine and is fueled with hydrogen gas. The proton exchange membrane APU is capable of producing up to 20 kilowatts (kW) of power at 42 volts DC, although the truck typically uses no more than approximately 7 kW for normal operation. Hydrogen for the fuel cell is stored in three compressed gas cylinders aboard the truck. The tanks hold approximately 5 kilograms (11 pounds) of hydrogen, or the equivalent energy of about five gallons of gasoline.

"We wanted to demonstrate the ability to run the truck completely across the country with a fuel cell APU," said Project Manager Alan Montemayor, a principal engineer in SwRI's Engine, Emissions and Vehicle Research Division. SwRI serves as technical integrator for the truck modification project.

The truck appeared on public display at the U.S. Fuel Cell Council's Congressional Fuel Cell Exposition in Washington, D.C.

For more information, contact Joe Fohn, Communications Department, (210) 522-4630, Southwest Research Institute, PO Drawer 28510, San Antonio, TX 78228-0510.

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