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| The 2007 Equinox Fuel Cell electric vehicle. |
GM has launched Project Driveway—the first large-scale consumer market test of fuel cell electric vehicles anywhere.
Under Project Driveway, GM will temporarily deploy more than 100
Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell electric vehicles among selected customers
in suburban Los Angeles, New York City and Washington, D.C
A variety of drivers—from regular families to celebrities—will have
free use of an Equinox Fuel Cell electric vehicle and the hydrogen fuel
it needs to make electricity onboard. The average family will get one
of the vehicles for three months and be required to report their
experience to Chevrolet.
Project Driveway is not focused on testing the technology; the
Equinox uses GM’s fourth-generation fuel cell system, while the company
has already moved on to a fifth generation to be applied in the
fuel-cell variant of the Volt, for example. The technology in the
Equinox is already four-years old, given the development and production
cycles.
Rather, according to Byron McCormick, Executive Director GM Global
Fuel Cell Activities, the project is designed to help GM understand
customer reaction to the vehicle: its handling, overall performance,
customer confidence, reaction to refueling, speed, capacity, audible
cues (such as the whine of the electric motor on deceleration), braking
feel and response, and so on.
Intellectually, it [the fuel cell electric vehicle]
may be a great story, but if the customers don’t buy it, it doesn’t
matter. Project Driveway is designed to learn what makes a
difference—how fast the air conditioning comes on, how the braking
feels, sounds, etc. If you look at the risks our industry is facing,
it’s worth spending the money to find out if consumers care about these
things.
—Byron McCormick
GM will apply what it learns to the advancement of both of its
series of electric drive vehicles—fuel cell electric vehicles, as well
as range-extended battery electric vehicles, such as the Chevrolet Volt
with GM’s E-Flex system. (Earlier post.)
These two families of electric vehicles mark the “cut line on petroleum” and are the “paradigm buster”, according to McCormick—the development pathway that leads to displacing petroleum in transportation.
The two technology variants of electric drive “complement each other, they’re not mutually exclusive,” McCormick said in a presentation for the kick-off of Project Driveway.
We don’t see it as a win/lose. With E-Flex, we’ll
take the batteries as far as they will take us. For people who are
doing commutes of 40 miles or less—about 50% of drivers—battery
technology looks like it will have good promise. Hydrogen gives you a
full-performance vehicle with a long driving range and a short
refueling time.
—Byron McCormick
Taxonomically, GM is drawing a distinction between plug-in hybrids
and range-extended electric vehicles that plug-in. The plug-in hybrid
label thus is assigned to the coming version of the Saturn Vue Green
Line two-mode hybrid—a mixed mechanical and electric drive vehicle with
a large, grid-chargeable battery pack. The range-extended electric
vehicle—as represented by the Volt and the E-Flex architecture, for
example—uses only an electric drive. Although the vehicles can plug in
(the Volt is a series hybrid with a small combustion engine as the
range extender for a large li-ion pack that is also grid-chargeable),
GM is emphasizing the electric drive, rather than focusing on the
multiple sources of electricity as defining a “hybrid.”
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| The instrument panel features a power
indicator (right) rather than a tachometer to show the power being
delivered to the system in kW. The green numbers below the 0 indicate
regen power. Click to enlarge. |
The Equinox Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle. The
Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell electric vehicle is equipped with a GM
fourth-generation, 93 kW fuel cell stack. A 35 kW NiMH battery pack
(about 1.8 kWh) provides energy storage for regenerative braking. These
power a front-wheel drive, 3-phase, 73 kW continuous, 94 kW maximum
asynchronous electric motor that delivers 236 lb-ft (320 Nm) of instant
torque and a top speed of about 100 miles per hour.
Three 700 bar compressed hydrogen storage tanks store 4.2 kg of
hydrogen—enough for a range of approximately 150 miles under the new
2008 EPA adjusted measurement. GM managed to fit the tanks without
disrupting the passenger cabin space, and with only a slight penalty in
the cargo area. The mid-sized crossover seats four, and offers 32 cubic
feet of cargo volume.
Instead of a tachometer, a power indicator is integrated into the
instrument panel to show the actual power being delivered to the system
in kilowatts (kW).
In order to prepare for the market test, GM worked with first
responders in the Project Driveway test areas to detail vehicle
specifics in the event of an emergency, and program participants will
be trained in safe fueling practices.
Major systems of the Equinox Fuel Cell vehicle are designed to shut
down in the event of a crash. Because it uses a high-voltage system,
similar to hybrid vehicles, only trained personnel should work on the
vehicle. A guide for emergency personnel shows where key fuel cell
components are located, and gives step-by-step directions on disabling
the electrical system.
Seven sensors located in the vehicle alert the driver in the event
of a hydrogen leak. In the event potentially unsafe levels are
detected, the system will alert the driver with a blinking icon, an
audible beep and a message on the driver information panel.
Earlier Posts from Green Car Congress
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