Development and Evaluation of Air-Cooled Fuel Cell Scooter

Suzuki Motor Corporation unveiled the Burgman Fuel Cell Scooter (Burgman FCS) at the “TOKYO MOTOR SHOW 2009”. It is a simple and high-efficiency fuel cell scooter, which is equipped with a compact and unique air-cooled fuel cell system, jointly developed with the UK firm, Intelligent Energy Ltd. In order to evaluate the vehicle performance and find any powertrain related issues from actual road and traffic conditions, it has been tested in a fleet testing program supported by the UK Technology Strategy Board (TSB), in UK since February 2010. In addition, seeking for different operating conditions, it is planned to provide it in 2011 to a further field test to be held in Japan. Additionally in March 2011, it obtained Whole Vehicle Type Approval (WVTA) in the European Union; the first time this has been achieved for any fuel cell vehicle. This proved that it has achieved the high level environmental acceptability and safety requirements which are essential for the practical scooter. This paper describes the system outline of the vehicle including the safety perspectives, as well as the knowledge and outcomes obtained from the fleet testing results.