Furthermore, filling a hydrogen tank takes only a few minutes, almost the same time as filling a conventional gasoline tank.
However, fuel cell batteries are very expensive and have a short lifespan, meaning they need to be replaced soon, which makes fuel cell-powered cars less economical.
However, scientists at the university have now developed a new type of fuel cell that has a lifespan at least 10 times longer than existing technologies.
Li Xiangguo, one of the scientists behind the invention, said: "We have found a way to reduce costs while still meeting durability and performance expectations. We are achieving economic goals while supplying zero emissions for transportation applications."
These fuel cells do not exhibit fluctuating current but rather constant power.
Researchers have significantly improved battery durability by strategically managing power so that each battery stack operates only at a fixed operating point (such as constant power output) and shortening its operating time (run) through switching control. This innovative configuration of the three fuel cell stacks in a fuel cell plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (FC-PHEV) greatly enhances battery durability.
Researchers have devised a power management hysteresis control strategy that distributes battery operating time evenly across the three fuel cell stacks and reduces the number of switching operations.
The results showed that the durability of on-board fuel cells was improved by 11.8 times, 4.8 times, and 6.9 times in urban roads, highways, and urban-highway combined driving, respectively.
The improved durability of fuel cell batteries stems from the fact that the average power demand during real-time driving is only a small fraction of the maximum power that an FC-PHEV can supply. Significantly improving durability can reduce the over-design of fuel cell batteries, thereby reducing costs.
Fuel cell vehicles represent an improvement over pure electric vehicles because fuel cell vehicles can be refueled very quickly, while electric vehicles charge very slowly.
