Fuel Cell Propulsion System Layout

Especially in light commercial- and heavy duty vehicle segment a fuel cell propulsion system offers significant advantages in terms of energy density and therewith payload. In order to fit the fuel cell propulsion system to the vehicle requirements a Matlab/Simulink fuel cell propulsion system model is developed and validated on fuel cell system - and vehicle testing results on SEGULA internal fuel cell testbench and vehicle roller dyno.After this model validation different fuel cell propulsions systems for LCV- and heavy duty applications are simulated. Focus is here on the definition of fuel celland battery power output as well as battery capacity. Beside that the fuel cell system should be run at highest possible efficiencies.Based on the modeling results a fuel cell dominant approach for light commercial – and heavy duty vehicles is recommended. Fuel cell system continuous power output for LCV is at 70 kW whereas the heavy duty truck tractor has a continuous power output of 210 kW. The LCV can be run with a battery capacity of 1,3 kWh whereas the heavy duty tractor uses 50 kWh battery capacity mainly due to climbing ability requirements.