Concept of a city commuter car powered with proton exchange membrane fuel cell operating on reformed methanol

A very small electric vehicle, powered with a proton exchange membrane fuel cell operating on reformed methanol, is planned and designed in this paper to solve social problems associated with air pollution and heavy traffic conditions.

Next, the driving range is simulated by the experimental data of the output and the performance. The conclusions of this paper are as follows: (1) The power train employing the fuel cell and compact brushless DC motor serves to realize high efficiency and reduce weight for energy saving. Besides, the present vehicle is an ultra-low-emission vehicle. (2) The compact body (2.5 m in length and 1.5 m in width) reduces the space necessary for parking, while ample interior space can accommodate a large volume air bag to maintain safety. (3) The designed electric commuter car is expected to meet 55 km/h barrier-crash safety standard of the Head Impact Criterion (HIC) for occupant protection. (4) From the simulated results of the driving performance on constant-speed modes and 10.15 mode on the basis of the experimental data of the performance using the fuel cell test equipment, it is shown that the planned and designed fuel- cell-powered electric vehicle has sufficient practical utility in urban and thruways.