Energy sources sizing for hybrid fuel cell vehicles based on statistical description of driving cycles

This paper describes a new methodology to size the energy source of a hybrid vehicle based on statistical description of driving cycles. This methodology is applied to a fuel cell based collection truck for which the driving pattern is very specific. Randoms driving cycles are then generated allowing the distribution of the average powers and energies to be computed. The analysis shows that even for a 2,500 kg truck, a 3,5kW fuel cell stack is sufficient, allowing the fuel cell system to be downsized compared to classical solutions using several tens of kilowatts fuel cell systems.

I. Introduction

In transport applications Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC) appear to be suitable in some cases and niche markets as they provide a very good tank-to-wheel efficiency compared to internal combustion engines [1], [2]. In cities, hydrogen gives the chance to have zero-emission vehicles. However, even if the tank-to-wheel efficiency is good, the wheel-to-tank efficiency has to be carrefully studied to have the most clean and environment-friendly hydrogen production [1], [3].