Truck with Prototype Fuel Cell APU to be on Display at UA Campus

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – A heavy-duty highway tractor truck equipped with a first-of-its-kind fuel-cell auxiliary power unit (APU), which is designed to reduce diesel fuel consumption and emissions, will make a stop at The University of Alabama’s College of Engineering. Researchers at UA’s Center for Advanced Vehicle Technologies (CAVT) have been directly involved with the development of the truck-mounted device.

The Freightliner Class 8 Sleeper Cab truck, equipped with a fuel-cell auxiliary power unit — a system developed by the U.S. Army TACOM’s National Automotive Center (NAC) with partnership from Ballard Power Systems, Freightliner LLC, and UA’s CAVT — will be on display Thursday, June 5, at UA’s Alabama Institute for Manufacturing Excellence (AIME) building.

The event, which will be open to the public, will begin at 10 a.m. with a short presentation highlighting some of the device’s unique qualities and benefits. After the presentation, the truck will remain on display until approximately 2 p.m. The AIME building is located on the corner of 2nd Street and McCorvey Drive on the north side of UA’s campus.

The prototype APU, which includes a Ballard Power Systems’ fuel-cell stack, generates power for the truck’s onboard electronics and appliances. Typically, long-haul commercial truckers idle their engines during non-driving operations to power sleeper cab air conditioning as well as other accessories, like microwaves and televisions.

Depending on the application and season, commercial trucks can idle anywhere between 20-40 percent of the time, thereby utilizing powerful engines at their lowest efficiency point. It has been estimated that non-driving idling costs the commercial trucking industry nearly $2 billion per year in fuel costs alone. Furthermore, truck engine idling increases vehicle emissions and noise levels.

The fuel-cell APU, however, provides both military and commercial truck operators with an alternate source of electrical power, thus eliminating the need to idle large diesel engines during non-driving conditions. The APU has the potential to substantially reduce fuel usage, vehicle emissions and maintenance costs, by more efficiently and cleanly meeting power needs.

The University of Alabama’s Center for Advanced Vehicle Technologies supports the fuel-cell APU partnership by providing noise and vibration analysis and system modeling capabilities. “Since this is the first prototype fuel-cell APU to be installed on a heavy-duty truck, the harmful vibrations that could result from road conditions were a major concern,” explained Dr. Steve Shepard, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at UA.

As a result, UA researchers have been analyzing different vibration isolation techniques and studying various vehicle arrangements to minimize the impact of the vibrations on the APU. Researchers at UA also have been studying system integration issues by examining the APU’s potential impact on vehicle efficiency and fuel cost savings. With the success of this project, there are a significant number of application possibilities for fuel cells that can now be explored.

This prototype APU recently was awarded the Automotive Engineering International Tech 2003 Award for being one of the top technologies on display at the Society of Automotive Engineers’ World Congress in Detroit, Mich. While on display at the SAE show, the environmentally-friendly APU was producing power for various electrical components, including an air conditioning unit for the Class 8 Freightliner truck’s large sleeper cab. The APU was running indoors, where it would be virtually impossible to run a diesel engine or diesel generator.

Emission and noise issues can be a concern at truck stops where a large number of vehicles can be located within a small area. Many municipalities nationwide have drafted anti-idling regulations. In addition to allowing truckers to meet these regulations and still have on-board power, the lower noise levels make the fuel-cell APU a prime candidate for applications where military personnel require a clean and quiet source of power. As a result, this device has a dual use for both commercial and military applications.

The APU produces five kilowatts of electricity with an onboard power management system that delivers electricity to the truck’s system, which can then export electricity off the vehicle as standard household power. The current APU requires a mixture of methanol and water as fuel. Additional research and development will be necessary to address the use of common commercial or military fuels, such as diesel or JP-8.

In a related project, which also involves the same group of NAC partners, UA College of Engineering researchers are examining how the performance of a fuel-cell APU can be further enhanced through component design and selection.

Note to the Editor: To receive photos of the truck with the fuel-cell auxiliary power unit, contact Mary Wymer at 205/348-6444 or mwymer@coe.eng.ua.edu.