Chapter 4 - Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicles: The Challenge for the Future

Abstract

This chapter focuses on Toyota's fuel cell hybrid vehicles (FCHV) that are developed to address issues related to the environment. Toyota Motor Corporation became the first automobile company in the world to develop the world's first mass-produced hybrid electric vehicle, with the launch of Prius. The company's completely in-house fuel cell—the Toyota FC Stack—not only has applications in its own fuel cell vehicle, but also in a variety of fuel cell products. Toyota has three types of FCHVs, differentiated by fuel system: compressed hydrogen storage, metal hydride hydrogen storage, and gasoline reformation. Toyota FCHV is a spacious, comfortable, and fun to drive vehicle, based on the Toyota Highlander, a five-passenger midsize sport utility vehicle. The FCHV stores hydrogen in four 35 megapascal (MPa), equal to 5000 pounds per square inch (psi), high-pressure tanks. The system combines hydrogen from the tanks with oxygen from the air to generate 90 kW of electric power. The maximum speed of the Toyota FCHV is 155 kilometers per hour. The hybrid system proven in Toyota's hybrid electric Prius achieves its highly efficient operation through sophisticated energy management of a gasoline engine and secondary battery. Toyota applied this hybrid technology to realize high efficiency in the FCHV as well. Moreover, the FCHV uses the same drivetrain as the Prius but the fuel cell stack is inserted in place of the gasoline engine. As in the Prius, a secondary battery provides additional power. The combination of a secondary battery with a fuel cell stack is more easily achieved than combining a secondary battery with a gasoline engine since the output for both sources in the FCHV is direct current electricity.