Nissan Exhibits X-TRAIL Fuel Cell Vehicle (FCV)
#1
04-20-2005, 02:33 PM
Nissan Exhibits X-TRAIL Fuel Cell Vehicle (FCV)
A cut-away display of the X-TRAIL FCV high-pressure hydrogen-powered vehicle, part of Nissan’s ongoing fuel cell vehicle (FCV) development efforts, will be shown at the 2005 New York International Auto Show.
Nissan recently announced two significant advances in its FCV program – the design and development of its first in-house (by Nissan Technical Center) fuel cell stack and a new high-pressure hydrogen storage system. These new technologies significantly improve the performance potential of FCVs, including enhanced acceleration and driving range.
The X-TRAIL FCV is a vital component to the Nissan Green Program 2005, an action plan for the company’s efforts in technology development, recycling strategy and many other initiatives. The X-TRAIL FCV is based on the Nissan X-TRAIL sport utility vehicle (SUV) sold in Japan, Europe and Canada. It employs elements of a variety of technologies, including electric vehicle (EV) technology, hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) technology, and compressed natural gas vehicle (CNGV) technology.
“Nissan is actively engaged in the development of many clean technologies, such as hybrid vehicles and fuel cell vehicles,” said Jack Collins, vice president, product planning, Nissan North America, Inc. “Fuel cells hold the promise of high efficiency while creating zero emissions, making them a clean power source for the future. The latest advances in Nissan’s fuel cell technology are aimed at improving the practicality of fuel cell stacks for future vehicle applications.”
Nissan Fuel Cell Stack
A fuel cell stack is the power unit of an FCV. Fuel cells generate electricity through a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen. Because they emit only water as a by-product, FCVs are considered to be among the most environmentally friendly vehicles.
Nissan Technical Center has developed its own fuel cell stack that adopts a “thin separator” that narrows the cell spacing (pitch) by 40% compared with Nissan’s previous stack (which was provided by an outside supplier).
At the same time, the plumbing components inside the stack case have been integrated, and the peripheral control devices have been built into the case to achieve a substantial reduction of size and improvement of performance.
As a result, Nissan has succeeded in increasing power output while achieving a more compact design than the previous stack. The volume of Nissan\'s new stack is reduced by approximately 60% of the previous stack while providing the same level of power.
Improvements made to the electrode materials more than double the service life of the new stack compared with Nissan\'s previous stack.
This technology will be applied to the 2005 Nissan X-Trail FCV test fleet.
70 MPa High-Pressure Hydrogen Storage System
By using higher pressure to increase the compression of the hydrogen, Nissan is able to increase an FCV’s hydrogen storage capacity by approximately 30% without changing the outer dimensions of the storage tank. The 70MPa (10,154 psi) high-pressure hydrogen storage tank is the same size as the previous 35MPa tank, but can use the increased capacity to extend the driving range of future FCVs considerably.
The new high-pressure hydrogen storage tank is made of an inner aluminum liner and an outer shell of several wound layers of a high-strength, high-elasticity carbon fiber. The winding pattern of the string-like carbon fiber has been optimally designed to achieve high strength for withstanding the extreme pressure.
The storage system has been certified by the High Pressure Gas Safety Institute of Japan (KHK) as a 70 MPa high-pressure hydrogen storage tank.
This technology is now under development to apply to future Nissan FCVs.
X-TRAIL FCV
The Nissan X-TRAIL FCV, which has already proven itself in extensive public road testing in the U.S. and in Japan, delivers clean power, without harmful emissions. The 5-passenger X-TRAIL FCV achieves a top speed of 90 mph (145 km/h) and a driving range of over 215 miles (350 km). Passenger comfort is maintained by a freon-free full-automatic air conditioning system that uses CO2 as the refrigerant. The Nissan-developed 85 kW electric motor is powered by the fuel cell stack and a compact, high-performance lithium-ion battery pack.
Nissan has been a pioneer in applying lithium-ion batteries to vehicles. As a result of long-term research, Nissan has succeeded in obtaining exceptionally high output characteristics and in developing a laminated lithium-ion cell in place of the conventional cylindrical shape.
The laminated cell design reduces the weight and volume by half, compared with the conventional cylindrical type. In addition, the thin cell construction improves cooling efficiency dramatically and also allows excellent vehicle packaging, making it possible to achieve a low, flat floor.
Nissan is engaged in wide-ranging research and development activities aimed at popularizing the use of FCVs and has been conducting public-road driving tests in the U.S. since April 2001 using prototype FCVs, and in Japan since December 2002. Nissan began leasing its X-TRAIL FCV to a limited number of customers, starting with oil refiner Cosmo Oil Co. in March 2004, then with Yokohama City and Kanagawa Prefecture in April 2004.
Source: Nissan News
~Amanda
Nissan recently announced two significant advances in its FCV program – the design and development of its first in-house (by Nissan Technical Center) fuel cell stack and a new high-pressure hydrogen storage system. These new technologies significantly improve the performance potential of FCVs, including enhanced acceleration and driving range.
The X-TRAIL FCV is a vital component to the Nissan Green Program 2005, an action plan for the company’s efforts in technology development, recycling strategy and many other initiatives. The X-TRAIL FCV is based on the Nissan X-TRAIL sport utility vehicle (SUV) sold in Japan, Europe and Canada. It employs elements of a variety of technologies, including electric vehicle (EV) technology, hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) technology, and compressed natural gas vehicle (CNGV) technology.
“Nissan is actively engaged in the development of many clean technologies, such as hybrid vehicles and fuel cell vehicles,” said Jack Collins, vice president, product planning, Nissan North America, Inc. “Fuel cells hold the promise of high efficiency while creating zero emissions, making them a clean power source for the future. The latest advances in Nissan’s fuel cell technology are aimed at improving the practicality of fuel cell stacks for future vehicle applications.”
Nissan Fuel Cell Stack
A fuel cell stack is the power unit of an FCV. Fuel cells generate electricity through a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen. Because they emit only water as a by-product, FCVs are considered to be among the most environmentally friendly vehicles.
Nissan Technical Center has developed its own fuel cell stack that adopts a “thin separator” that narrows the cell spacing (pitch) by 40% compared with Nissan’s previous stack (which was provided by an outside supplier).
At the same time, the plumbing components inside the stack case have been integrated, and the peripheral control devices have been built into the case to achieve a substantial reduction of size and improvement of performance.
As a result, Nissan has succeeded in increasing power output while achieving a more compact design than the previous stack. The volume of Nissan\'s new stack is reduced by approximately 60% of the previous stack while providing the same level of power.
Improvements made to the electrode materials more than double the service life of the new stack compared with Nissan\'s previous stack.
This technology will be applied to the 2005 Nissan X-Trail FCV test fleet.
70 MPa High-Pressure Hydrogen Storage System
By using higher pressure to increase the compression of the hydrogen, Nissan is able to increase an FCV’s hydrogen storage capacity by approximately 30% without changing the outer dimensions of the storage tank. The 70MPa (10,154 psi) high-pressure hydrogen storage tank is the same size as the previous 35MPa tank, but can use the increased capacity to extend the driving range of future FCVs considerably.
The new high-pressure hydrogen storage tank is made of an inner aluminum liner and an outer shell of several wound layers of a high-strength, high-elasticity carbon fiber. The winding pattern of the string-like carbon fiber has been optimally designed to achieve high strength for withstanding the extreme pressure.
The storage system has been certified by the High Pressure Gas Safety Institute of Japan (KHK) as a 70 MPa high-pressure hydrogen storage tank.
This technology is now under development to apply to future Nissan FCVs.
X-TRAIL FCV
The Nissan X-TRAIL FCV, which has already proven itself in extensive public road testing in the U.S. and in Japan, delivers clean power, without harmful emissions. The 5-passenger X-TRAIL FCV achieves a top speed of 90 mph (145 km/h) and a driving range of over 215 miles (350 km). Passenger comfort is maintained by a freon-free full-automatic air conditioning system that uses CO2 as the refrigerant. The Nissan-developed 85 kW electric motor is powered by the fuel cell stack and a compact, high-performance lithium-ion battery pack.
Nissan has been a pioneer in applying lithium-ion batteries to vehicles. As a result of long-term research, Nissan has succeeded in obtaining exceptionally high output characteristics and in developing a laminated lithium-ion cell in place of the conventional cylindrical shape.
The laminated cell design reduces the weight and volume by half, compared with the conventional cylindrical type. In addition, the thin cell construction improves cooling efficiency dramatically and also allows excellent vehicle packaging, making it possible to achieve a low, flat floor.
Nissan is engaged in wide-ranging research and development activities aimed at popularizing the use of FCVs and has been conducting public-road driving tests in the U.S. since April 2001 using prototype FCVs, and in Japan since December 2002. Nissan began leasing its X-TRAIL FCV to a limited number of customers, starting with oil refiner Cosmo Oil Co. in March 2004, then with Yokohama City and Kanagawa Prefecture in April 2004.
Source: Nissan News
~Amanda
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