Peter Prenninger, Erich Ramschak, Jürgen Rechberger, Martin Schüssler, AVL List GmbH
7th European SOFC Fuel Cell Forum, Luzern, 03.07.2006 - 07.07.2006
Apart from durability and reliability, high costs are the most critical barrier for market introduction of fuel cell driven auxiliary power units (APU). This critical cost situation can be compensated by providing additional benefits for end users by means of extended functionality and higher degree of integration in a truck system.
AVL has developed a concept for such a highly integrated APU with a pay back period significantly shorter than the lifetime of the truck. The fuel cell system fulfils basic functions like idling electrification / climatisation and additional functions such as more efficient exhaust gas after treatment and engine preheating. The concept is open for realising further benefits by either substitution, electrification or common use of components.
The detailed packaging study shows that the critical mass and volume targets for FC APUs (as e.g. defined by the US SECA programme) can be reached. An anode recirculation loop has been developed to ensure highly dynamic operation of the fuel cell and the exhaust gas after treatment. A rapid start-up of the system becomes possible through thermal coupling of the cathode path with the anode recirculation loop.
Based on the results of the cost analysis, the technical layout of the system will be presented and discussed along with results of key component experiments carried out on a special AVL Hardware-in-the-Loop fuel cell test bench.