Research on Economic and Operating Characteristics of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars Based on Real Vehicle Tests

Abstract

With the increase of the requirement for the economy of vehicles and the strengthening of the concept of environmental protection, the development of future vehicles will develop in the direction of high efficiency and cleanliness, and the current power system of vehicles based on traditional fossil fuels will gradually transition to hybrid power. As an essential technological direction for new energy vehicles, the development of fuel cell passenger vehicles is of great significance in reducing transportation carbon emissions, stabilizing energy supply, and maintaining the sustainable development of the automotive industry. To study the fuel economy of a passenger car with the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) during the operating phase, two typical PEMFC passenger cars, test vehicles A and B, were compared and analyzed. The hydrogen consumption and hydrogen emission under two operating conditions, namely the different steady-state power and the Chinese Vehicle Driving Conditions-Passenger Car cycle, were tested. The test results show the actual hydrogen consumption rates of vehicle A and vehicle B are 9.77 g/kM and 8.28 g/kM, respectively. The average hydrogen emission rates for vehicle A and vehicle B are 1.56 g/(kW·h) and 5.40 g/(kW·h), respectively. By comparing the hydrogen purge valve opening time ratio, the differences between test vehicles A and B in control strategy, hydrogen consumption, and emission rate are analyzed. This study will provide reference data for China to study the economics of the operational phase of PEMFC vehicles.