Review of the Research Program of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership Second Report (2008) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
5 Overall Assessment
5 Overall Assessment
Pages 102-120
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 102... ...
Advanced Combustion and Emission Control Since advanced internal combustion engine (ICE) hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles can provide significant petroleum savings and emission reductions during the transition to a more hydrogen-dominated transportation scenario, technology advancements leading to improvements in ICE efficiencies as well as reduced tailpipe emissions are very important to the Partnership.
|
From page 103... ...
Fuel Cells There is ample evidence of steady progress in most key fuel-cell-related technical areas, providing steady movement toward both performance and cost goals. There have been no breakthrough achievements, with the possible exception of a novel approach to the design and fabrication of the fuel cell membrane electrode assembly (MEA)
|
From page 104... ...
• Virtually all hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are still operating on very high purity hydrogen. It is not yet clear what levels of contaminants can be tolerated without significant degradation of fuel cell performance or hardware lifetime.
|
From page 105... ...
, especially the resins that bind the carbon fibers and create structurally sound pressure vessels. While considerable progress has been made, there are still very imposing barriers for achieving onboard hydrogen storage systems that will meet all targets and thus enable mass production of fuel-cell vehicles: • To date, all demonstration fuel cell vehicles and, apparently, all planned next-generation fuel cell vehicles use either 350 bar (5,000 psi)
|
From page 106... ...
Further, safety is of critical importance to maintaining support for the development of this technology. If hydrogen or hydrogen vehicles were ever demonstrated or perceived to be unsafe, this could be a severe blow to the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership.
|
From page 107... ...
• Hydrogen Technology Analysis-Hydrogen Production (H2A Production)
|
From page 108... ...
DOE has shown that the United States could sustainably produce enough biomass to satisfy 30 percent or more of its current consumption of liquid transportation fuels if optimistic projections of biomass supply are met. Some achievements in hydrogen production include these:
|
From page 109... ...
• The sustainable availability and cost of biomass derived fuels are highly uncertain because of unresolved technical issues, unknowns surrounding land and water use policies, competition for these two resources, and the need for subsidies to stimulate commercial development. Technology Validation Experience teaches that the real-world operation of a system can result in unexpected consequences for its performance or durability.
|
From page 110... ...
In the past, most program concerns centered on the fuel cell -- indeed it is still very problematic. However, other barriers, such as finding an appropriate onboard hydrogen storage system, may have become more pressing.
|
From page 111... ...
* NE, $19.3 M FE, $23.6 M SC, $36.4 M Presidential Commitment FY 04-08: $1.7 billion for EERE, $111.7 M DOT, $1.4 M FreedomCAR and Hydrogen Fuel Initiative FIGURE 5-1 Estimated budget for the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership for FY07 Continuing Resolution.
|
From page 112... ...
components, hydrogen production and delivery technology, and hydrogen storage materials. The budget also includes $50 million for basic science, which also agrees with the recommendations in The Hydrogen Economy that call for increased emphasis on the fundamental science related to hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.
|
From page 113... ...
FIGURE 5-2 Distribution of $268 million total funding by recipient type for the DOE hydrogen program in FY07. SOURCE: Phyllis Yoshida, DOE EERE, November 19, 2007.
|
From page 114... ...
FIGURE 5-3 Distribution of $126.7 million total funding by recipient type for the vehicle technologies portfolio 5-3.eps FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership for FY07. SOURCE: of the Phyllis Yoshida, DOE EERE, November 19, 2007.
|
From page 115... ...
After a 6 percent increase in FY07, the budget request for FY08 proposes to increase spending on structural materials another 12 percent, to almost $24 million, which is 19 percent of the total FreedomCAR vehicle expenditure. The work done to date by the materials team is excellent, but the committee continues to believe that the 50 percent weight reduction target at zero cost penalty is unrealistic and that funds currently allocated to this activity might be better spent elsewhere, as was suggested in the Phase 1 report.
|
From page 116... ...
program, the design of the CCS pilot projects, the status of DOT safety, codes and standards activity, and the sustainable availability of biomass materials. The committee strongly supports the focus and allocation of funds within the vehicle portion of the program, with the exception of the spending on structural materials, which might be better used for some higher priority research areas.
|
From page 117... ...
In particular, the Phase 1 report noted the risk posed to the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle program by reliance on high pressure storage beyond the early transition period. Even with many automotive manufacturers currently introducing fuel cell vehicles that employ high-pressure tanks, the potential for low-pressure hydrogen storage to accelerate a hydrogen transition remains enormous.
|
From page 118... ...
Hydrogen Fuel Production and Distribution Under Recommendation 4-2, the committee called for special attention to be directed at the transition from a fuels infrastructure built to serve ICEs to one capable of serving a mixed fleet. In particular, the systems analysis work supporting the fuel/vehicle pathway integration technical team should examine whether raising the cost goals for hydrogen production during the transition period would accelerate or retard the introduction of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
|
From page 119... ...
The committee further recommended increasing resources not only from the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership but also from the other participating federal agencies, chiefly NHTSA. DOE requested the needed funds, but its subsequent review of this recommendation concluded that a separate technical team could not function as envisioned by the committee and declined to establish a new technical team.
|
From page 120... ...
Systems Analysis Recommendation 2-2 proposed that the Partnership should use its systems analysis capabilities routinely in all management activities -- establishing goals, evaluating trade-offs, setting priorities, and making go/no-go decisions. Recommendation 2-1 emphasized a specific element of this, the use of ongoing well-towheels analyses to assess progress in the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership and to guide trade-offs among goals.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.