C o v e r S t o r y T WO WHEEL ERS

AIR-COOLED FUEL CELL SYSTEM

IN HYBRID SCOOTER

The Burgman fuel cell scooter (Burgman FCS) of Suzuki Motor Corporation is a hybrid scooter, which is
equipped with a compact and air-cooled fuel cell system, jointly developed with Intelligent Energy Ltd. The
scooter has been tested in a fleet testing programme supported by the UK Technology Strategy Board (TSB)
since February 2010, to evaluate the vehicles performance and find any powertrain related issues arising from
road and traffic conditions.

24 www.autotechreview.com
 A uthors
KENGO IKEYA
is Assistant Manager in the Research
& Development Planning Dept.
Project 1 at Suzuki Motor Corporation
in Hamamatsu (Japan).
TORU EGUCHI
is Assistant Manager in the Research
& Development Planning Dept.
Project 1 at Suzuki Motor Corporation
in Hamamatsu (Japan).
KAZUHIKO MIZUTANI
is Assistant Manager in the Research
& Development Planning Dept.
Project 2 at Suzuki Motor Corporation
in Hamamatu (Japan).
VEHICLE CHARACTERISTICS
The hybrid electric scooter Burgman FCS,
1 (a), drives a traction motor with elec-
tric power supplied from both the fuel cell
and the battery. (b) shows the vehicles
major specifications. Further features are:
:: Simple, small and light weight air-
cooled fuel cell system;
:: Robust chassis structure utilising the
original framework of the petrol based
scooter;
:: Practical driving range by incorporat-
ing a 70 MPa high-pressure hydrogen
storage;
:: Suitable power distribution between
the fuel cell and the lithium-ion bat-
tery; and
:: Rapid system start-up realised by the
simple fuel cells ability to respond
over a wide range of conditions.
VEHICLE SYSTEM AND
PARTS LAYOUT
The fuel cell system is connected to the
motor controller in parallel with the bat-
tery via the power control unit, 2 (a).
In the power control unit, the fuel cell
connects to the battery and motor con-
troller via an electrical circuit consisting
of the field effect transistor (FET)
switch. During deceleration or when
travelling downhill, the regeneration
energy from the motor controller is cap-
tured by the battery, and while idling
the battery is recharged by the fuel cell.
Hydrogen refuelling of the tank is
done via the hydrogen receptacle, which
is positioned in front of the riders seat.
Two pressure regulators reduce the high-
pressure hydrogen from the hydrogen
tank to 50 kPA (gage) before supplied to
the fuel cell system. The power control
unit, which is positioned in front of the
fuel cell system, supplies the output
power of the fuel cell to the motor con-
troller, and then drives the in-wheel
motor which is installed in the swing
arm of the rear wheel. In front of the
fuel cell system under the seat, the lith-
ium-ion battery is installed, which func-
tions as the energy buffer to assist the
power supply during acceleration and to
capture the regenerative power during
deceleration. The acceleration perfor-
mance from the stop was adjusted to
that of a 50 cc class motorcycle for rea-
sons of safety and fuel economy.

a)

TOHRU OHTA
is Manager in the Research &
Development Planning Dept. Project 1
at Suzuki Motor Corporation in
Hamamatsu (Japan).

b)

Overall length 2055 mm

Overall width 725 mm
Overall height 1240 mm
Weight 170 kg
Motor AC synchronous motor
Fuel cell PEFC (air-cooled, 1.6 kW)
Fuel storage Pressurised hydrogen tank (70 MPa)
Battery Li-ion battery (0.5 kWh, 7 Ah)
Range 350 km (@ 30 km/h)
Top speed 63 km/h

Outline features of the vehicle with technical specifications

a) fuel cell scooter, Burgman FCS, b) specifications of the vehicle

autotechreview Jun e 2 014 Vo lum e 3 | I s su e 6 25

C o v e r S t o r y T WO WHEEL ERS
PRINCIPLE OF THE AIR-COOLED
FUEL CELL SYSTEM
The fuel cell generates electric energy
from the chemical reaction between the
oxygen in the air and the hydrogen
stored in the tank. Generally, and under
consideration of size, weight, operational
temperature and quick system starts, the
Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell (PEFC) is
employed for vehicle use. With regards
Fuel system diagram:
a) air-cooled fuel cell system,
b) water-cooled fuel cell system
26
Vehicle system and
parts layout: a) system
diagram of the vehicle,
b) hydrogen system layout
to the fuel, and to achieve high effi-
ciency, a high-purity compressed hydro-
gen fuel is required.
3 (a) shows the system diagram of an
air-cooled fuel cell system, whereas (b)
shows an example of a water-cooled sys-
tem commonly used for fuel cell automo-
biles. It can be clearly seen that the air-
cooled system is extremely simple com-
pared with the water-cooled system. For
smaller power systems below several kW,
the air-cooled fuel cell system, which lim-
its the BOP (Balance Of Plant) require-
ment to a minimum extent could make
the total system lighter and more compact
than the equivalent water-cooled system.
In addition, the air-cooled fuel cell sys-
tem does not require any water cooling
components, resulting in a drastic reduc-
tion of the BOP. 4 (a) and (c) show
the appearance and the major specifica-
tions of the air-cooled fuel cell system.
Via the air filter on the fuel cell stack, the
air is supplied by the low pressure blower
fans installed beneath them. No pollut-
ants or toxic substances are produced,
and generated water is exhausted in the
form of water vapour. However, though
having only low pressure blower fans is
one of the biggest advantages, the thermal
management of the stack was one of the
key issues. To realise enough low pressure
drop of the exhaust system, the duct was
designed to have the maximum sectional
area at the rear end of the vehicle, (b).
HYDROGEN AND HIGH-VOLTAGE
SAFETY CONCEPT
Hydrogen is a combustible gas, which
could be ignited in the presence of an
ignition source when it is mixed with air
in the concentration of 4 to 75 %, and
therefore requires utmost care in han-
dling. However, because of its nature
such as its low specific gravity and an
extremely high diffusivity, hydrogen
could be easily diffused and diluted in
the air even in the remote chance of a
leakage. The following design guidelines
were considered:
www.autotechreview.com
:: Prevent hydrogen leakage by protect-
ing the high-pressure hydrogen parts,
including the hydrogen tank with the
robust chassis frame;
:: Detect hydrogen leakage and close the
main shut-off valve of the hydrogen
tank; and
:: Avoid spaces in which hydrogen gas
could accumulate.
In addition, two hydrogen detector sen-
sors are equipped at the highest point
under the seat and above the main shut-
off valve, (b). These sensors have two
levels of detection; initial warning fol-
lowed by shutdown. In case either of the
hydrogen sensors detects a hydrogen leak-
age, a warning signal on the dashboard
informs the rider at the warning level,
while at the shutdown level the hydrogen
shutoff valve closes and the vehicle sys-
tem shuts down safely.
In case of a tip-over of the vehicle,
which is one of the biggest concerns for
two-wheelers, the hydrogen shutoff valve
closes as a result of a signal from the tip-
over sensor installed at the front part of
the vehicle. The hydrogen storage and
supply system met EU regulation (EC)
No 79/2009, and the design was also
based on the safety requirements of
Attachment 100, the Japanese domestic
technical regulation for four-wheeled fuel
cell automobiles, considering the specific
structures of two-wheeled vehicles.
With respect to crash safety, a sled
test of the hydrogen storage tank
mounted on the vehicle chassis frame
was conducted following the
requirements described in the above EU
regulation. So far, vehicle regulations on
high-voltage safety for fuel cell
motorcycles have neither been fully
developed domestically nor
internationally. Therefore, the vehicle
system has been designed to meet the
safety aspects, and offer protection
against direct and indirect contact as
well as isolation resistance, following
the requirements of Attachment 101, the
previous domestic technical regulation
on high-voltage safety of four wheel fuel
cell automobiles.
In addition, it meets the ECE regula-
tion No 100, which covers high-voltage
safety of four-wheeled electric vehicles.
The air-cooled system adopted this time
offers the advantage of not having risks
of electric leakage.
autotechreview Jun e 2 014 Vo lum e 3 | I s su e 6
WHOLE VEHICLE TYPE
APPROVAL (WVTA)
In order to popularise fuel cell two-
wheelers, it is important to acquire live
data in the real world and in the various
different road conditions and traffic situ-
ations, not only on the proving grounds
under limited conditions. For this to
happen, it is necessary to get vehicle
certification to allow fuel cell two-
wheelers to run on public roads. Up to
now, since the regulations for the fuel
cell motorcycles are neither sufficiently
developed domestically nor internation-
ally, each vehicle needs to be certified
one by one as a single vehicle approval.
Considering that Europe would be
one of the most important and promis-
ing markets for fuel cell vehicles, Euro-
pean WVTA was set as the target. Fol-
lowing the regulations/standards listed
below, in March 2011, the vehicle
obtained WVTA; the first time for any
fuel cell vehicle in the world:
:: Electric traction system and vehicle
system: EU directive 2002/24/EC;
:: Fuel cell system: IEC 62282-2; and
:: Fuel storage and supply system: EU
regulation (EC) No 79/2009.
a)
c)
Supplier Intelligent Energy Ltd.
Type PEFC (polymer electrolyte fuel cell)
Cooling Air-cooled system
Output power 1.6 kW (net)
Supply pressure 50 kPa G
System efficiency 50 % (LHV)
Sound level < 62 dB @ 1 m
Hydrogen ultilisation > 98 %
Standards IEC 62282-2
Air-cooled fuel cell system: a) photograph, b) exhaust duct design of the fuel cell system,
c) specification of the fuel cell system
FLEET TESTING RESULTS
Since February 2010, the vehicle has been
taking part in a fleet testing programme in
Loughborough, UK, supported by the UK
Technology Strategy Board. The objectives
of the fleet testing are data collection and
analysis of the vehicle driving perfor-
mance and fuel economy, as well as the
detection and subsequent investigation of
the countermeasures for any powertrain
related issues.
(a) shows an example of the actual
running data the output voltage of the
fuel cell system (V_FC), the output power
from the fuel cell system (P_FC), the out-
put and input power of the battery (P_
BATT), the input voltage of the motor
controller (V_MC), and the consumed
power of the motor controller (P_MC).
The fuel cell output power, being
dependent on the bus voltage, increases
as the bus voltage drops following the
increase of the power request from the
motor. The fuel cell continues generating
power even without any power request
from the motor, and keeps charging the
battery. The diagram also shows that the
fuel cell could cut the peak power of the
battery by operating relatively constantly.
b)
27
 C o v e r S t o r y T WO WHEEL ERS

a) 7000 90
(b) shows the efficiency data, which
V_FC V_MC
6000 80 were calculated from the measured fuel
cell system power output, when operating
5000 70
the system at maximum continuous
4000 60 power. This clearly demonstrates that the
P_MC BOP consumption is quite low even at

Voltage [V]
Power [W]

3000 50 maximum power, resulting in excellent

system efficiency. In addition, it can be
2000 40
seen that the power losses of the power
1000 30 electronics in the power control unit
P_FC remain negligibly small. The tank
0 20
employed this time is small with an inter-
-1000 10 nal volume of only 11.2 l, 6 (b).
P_BATT The diagram in (a) shows data of
-2000 0 the hydrogen filling and displays the
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
change of the tank internal pressure (P_
Time [s]
Tank) and the temperature (T_Tank) dur-
b)
ing refuelling from 0 to 70 MPa at 20 C
Hydrogen consumption 3150 W ambient. T_amb represents the actual
Stack output power 1745 W measured ambient temperature. It takes
approximately 400 s to reach 70 MPa, and
BOP power 103 W
at the same time, the tank internal tem-
System output power 1603 W perature reaches approximately 75 C at
Stack efficiency 55.4 % the end. Although this is lower than the
maximum allowable temperature of the
System efficiency 50.9 %
tank (85 C), it was confirmed from the
Lessons learnt from the fleet testing: a) example of the power distribution, data that pre-cool technology, which cools
b) fuel cell system efficiency at maximum continuous power hydrogen at the hydrogen station side
before dispensing, would be required con-
sidering a higher ambient temperature as
well as faster refuelling.
a) 80

70 SUMMARY

60
Achieving thermal management of the air-
T_Tank
Temperature [C]
Pressure [MPa]

50 cooled fuel cell system requires cooling air

with a high flow rate. To meet this
P_Tank
40 requirement, a sophisticated ducting
design minimising the pressure drop was
30
one of the most important design factors
20 to be considered. The following results
could be obtained from the data:
10 :: With an extremely low power con-
T_amb sumption of the BOP, the air-cooled
0
-100 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 fuel cell system achieves high system
Time [s] efficiency; and
:: Even in case of a small hydrogen tank,
b) hydrogen pre-cooling is essential to
Supplier Lincoln Composites, Inc.
achieve high-speed refuelling at a high
atmospheric temperature.
Pressure 70 MPa

Internal volume 11.2 l REFERENCE

[1] http://www.globalsuzuki.com/
Usable hydrogen 440 g globalnews/2011/0309.html
Regulation EU Regulation (EC) No 79/2009 certified

Lessons learnt from the fleet testing: a) hydrogen tank refueling testing data, Read this article on
b) specification of the hydrogen tank www.autotechreview.com

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