FCREX: Fuel Cell Range Extender with Cold Start Capability for Cargo Pedelecs

Kurzfassung

More than 75 % of the Europeans are living in cities and the amount of goods delivered to households is constantly increasing, mainly caused by the increasing market share of online shopping. The associated raise in traffic volume intensifies the urban problems of traffic jams and air pollution. To overcome these issues, new solutions especially for the last mile delivery have to be established providing low exhaust emissions, high transportation flexibility, high operating range and reliable functionality regardless of the weather. Electrically-operated Cargo Pedelecs (E-Pedelecs) have a high potential to cover the gap of cargo transport solutions in cities. Based on a European research study, 51 % of all motorized trips related to goods transport can be shifted to these bicycles in European cities. These E-Pedelecs provide a (locally) emission-free transport and they can use roads, bikeways, bus lanes and pedestrian areas. Beside this ecofriendly transport and their high flexibility, E-Pedelecs are still struggling to cover the required operating range for multiple-shift operation and to assure a sufficient lifetime under subzero conditions. A German research study identified the battery to be the bottleneck of this problem. The presented FC REX is a fuel cell range extender system especially designed for E-Pedelecs under all climatic conditions in European cities. A cold start unit is developed to enable freeze start of the fuel cell system and provide full system power in short time and without loss of operating range. All components of the system, including the fuel cell stack, are specially designed with respect to fast and efficient heat transfer, high system efficiency and high power density. The latter is one of the key requirements for a successful integration of the FC REX into E-Pedelecs. The limited installation space was previously the main obstacle for fuel cell powered E-Pedelecs.