The fuel cell has got something out of the field of view in the current hype to the pioneers of electric mobility. But the hydrogen based drive system has clear benefits, one thinks at Toyota and sends two fuel cell Ambassador Germany-mission.

The total station on the Berlin wood market Street has an extra wide product range. In addition to conventional fuels are bio natural gas, LPG and electricity in the offer – and now also “H2″, so hydrogen can be tapped from two petrol pumps. He is ready for duty in liquid or gaseous state and can be at a pressure of 350 or 700 bar in the vehicle tank Guide. Already five buses or 50 cars could populate here per day their hydrogen tanks. Actually count the petrol stations but once with up to ten customers at their new, Silver Blue H2 fuel dispensers – after all, the age of hydrogen mobility is currently still a scenario for the future. More than a few a few hydrogen buses of service that connects and a few dozen pre-production vehicles of from different manufacturers are in Berlin is not at the start.

Toyota has sent two stately SUV in the Berliner wood market Street to this cool ruptured. The vehicles have covered already a few thousand kilometres of testing in the United States. Now, the comfortable fellows, where nothing but water vapor from the exhaust pipe escapes, to Flay impression in Germany. Because if it were to the Japanese, the age of the hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles could begin in a few years. From 2015, says Toyota, Berennen fuel cell cars could go into series – when the market, if the consumer, if the policy so desires and if the course are set by corresponding infrastructure on H2 course.

The SUV FCHV-adv in small test fleets running Toyota for two years under the acronym, already have a pretty good

Portion for everyday use. So, the unfavorable cold start properties of previous fuel cell vehicles to be past. An optimized arrangement of elements, the polymer electrolyte membrane, the heart of fuel cells, freezes at minus 30 Gran C no longer. Even on the coldest day of the last German Super winter, have you can start the test vehicles for reliable minus 37 degrees, asserts Toyota’s technology expert Dirk Breuer. More than ten years experience with the electrical system of the Prius launched apparently also the safety of the fuel cell with large thrust forward. In the case of a potential threat, all high-voltage components be de-coupled directly at Prius & co. In the fuel cell vehicles is also an arsenal of sensors on board, which “can sniffing leaking hydrogen”, whereupon the security Abkopplungen are initiated.

Also in terms of range, the Japanese have made significant progress with its second generation of the FCHV. Had to the previous model take all 350 kilometres a fuel stop, so FCHV-is adv on one tank 600 KMS. That plus goes to the Bill of the new high-pressure hydrogen tanks, with 700 bar instead of as in the past filled with 350 bar are, so that increases the capacity of 148 to 156 litres.

Also, around a quarter less hydrogen as its predecessor uses the current version of the fuel cell vehicle. For efficiency, the Toyota developers benefit from the know-how, the the group now in the development of conventional hybrid cars – so those, the an electric and an internal combustion engine on Board have – has acquired. The hydrogen vehicle FCHV-adv also works with a hybrid powertrain. Here different force donor supply times individually, times in combination, the energy required for propulsion. With the difference that entered a so-called fuel cell stack at the point of combustion. When the and at low speed uses the 90 kW / 122 HP strong electric motor of the Toyota SUV directly from the nickel metal hybrid battery. If more energy is required, such as strong acceleration maneuvers, battery and fuel cell provide the power for the electric unit together and the car is then with uniform, higher speed on the road, alone the fuel cell powers the electric motor with drive current. There are other parallels between the Brennstoffzelenhybrid FCHV-adv and the internal combustion engine hybrid vehicles. Both systems use the kinetic energy released in the Schiebebetrieb and braking. Rather than like traditional verb runner unused as waste heat to escape, is by the hybrid electric converted into energy, stored in the battery and provided the engine for his services when starting up or accelerating again to.

With a torque of 260 nm, FCHV-adv is sovereign on the wide avenues of the capital. The highway would be free, the SUV could Sprint here at a rate of 150 – alone the space for the sample in the example is missing on the peri asphalt. That the fuel cell power plant begins his performance volume in years and decades, would without question. But in fact, the system in the course of time loses a performance continuously. So only about 95 percent are still 80 after five years, after 15 years and only good after trialing time 70 percent of the original performance achieved, showed Toyota calculations. Thus, the fuel cell compared to the pure electric car is there but always still shiny, stresses the carmaker. Currently, there is no any battery that produces a remotely comparable life have. Because the fuel system cell, also not with long load times, to fight small ranges and the weight problems, the drive with hydrogen could be at least a useful supplement to the Electromobility suitable rather for short-haul operations, is convinced Toyota.

The production of hydrogen is still time-consuming and expensive. Therefore the costs are facing future hydrogen customers are hard calculable. Currently the kg of H2 at the Berliner wood market Street costing eight euros, a full fuel load for the FCHV-adv is there for more than 50 euros. “But it is a political price,” says Carsten Retzke, taking care of hydrogen at total Germany GmbH to the project. In the framework of multi-year large-scale “clean energy partnership”-Pilotprojekts hydrogen is currently highly subsidised. What course the policy will drive in the coming years, is uncertain.

To the green fuel H2 is only if the electricity for hydrogen production is produced by renewable energies such as solar and wind. A small photovoltaic system has set therefore already times the Berlin gas station in the front yard. Everything to interested contemporaries show before, what all possible. In Germany however, the Sun could rich not the water the wind at least in energy production on a large scale and at a reasonable cost, says Retzke. Therefore, the operator of the project-station wanted to build also wind towers on their land on the wood market Street. So much zeal for innovation was firstly braked, but by the authorities. Out there, outside the town, the unconventional ideas can be already more easily realized. In the future Berlin Brandenburg airport, there will be a CO2 neutral gas station from autumn 2011, that generates the electricity for the production of hydrogen in the own wind farm.