Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells for Electrical Power Generation On-Board Commercial Airplanes

Abstract

Deployed on a commercial airplane, proton exchange membrane fuel cells may offer emissions reductions, thermal efficiency gains, and enable locating the power near the point of use. This work seeks to understand whether on-board fuel cell systems are technically feasible, and, if so, if they offer a performance advantage for the airplane as a whole.Through hardware analysis and thermodynamic and electrical simulation, we found that while adding a fuel cell system using today's technology for the PEM fuel cell and hydrogen storage is technically feasible, it will not likely give the airplane a performance benefit. However, when we re-did the analysis using DOE-target technology for the PEM fuel cell and hydrogen storage, we found that the fuel cell system would provide a performance benefit to the airplane (i.e., it can save the airplane some fuel), depending on the way it is configured. 3 AcknowledgementsThe authors of this study had a great deal of enthusiastic support from both within and outside of Sandia National Laboratories.Dr. Joe Breit of The Boeing Company directly or indirectly provided most of the information about airplane electrical systems and issues in current airplane design that might be able to leverage the capabilities of a fuel cell. In the rare cases he could not answer our frequent questions, he referred us to others at Boeing who were just as happy to help: Andy Bayliss for issues concerning airplane performance, Trevor Laib for information on the existing environmental control systems, and Farhad Nozari and Casey Roberts for more electrical system details.Ryan Sookhoo of Hydrogenics was gracious in his support of our project, offering details on their PEM fuel cell technology to assist us in making reasonable estimates for the current state of the art as well as predictions of what may be possible for future aviation-designed fuel cell systems. His insight into the European world of aviation fuel cells was also useful to help put this study into perspective.Dr. Andy Lutz of Sandia (now at the University of Pacific) provided his extensive knowledge on the Simulink thermodynamic models that were used in this study.Of course, this project would not have taken place without the support of the Department of Energy's Fuel Cell Technologies Program, Pete Devlin and Nancy Garland in the Market Transportation group in particular. The encouragement and suggestions we received from them was invaluable. 4 SummaryFuel cells have become increasingly important as alternative sources of power, offering the potential for drastic reduction in emissions in particulate matter (PM), nitrogen oxides (NO x ), and CO 2 . In addition, they offer exceptionally quiet operation, highly efficient use of the fuel energy, and a high energy storage density compared to batteries. For a number of years, the manufacturers of commercial aircraft, most notably Boeing and Airbus, have realized that fuel cells may offer advantages for commercial aircraft operation. Apart from emissions reductions and thermal efficiency...

Fuzzy energy management for hybrid fuel cell/battery systems for more electric aircraft

“…Transitory power load duration will be only a few seconds. Thus, the mission power profile will be formed by a permanent load and a succession of different transitory loads due to the pilot maneuvers [7].…”

“…In addition, they offer noise reduction, highly efficient use of the fuel energy and high energy storage density compared to batteries. In recent years, the manufacturers of commercial aircrafts have realized that fuel cells can offer them several advantages (especially Boeing and Airbus) [7]- [16].…”

PEMFC for aeronautic applications: A review on the durability aspects

“…Use of water produced on-board rather than collected from different airport locations can enhance confidence on its quality. The electrical power generated on board by PEMFC can be used to power moving ailerons, nose wheel electric motor, brakes, flight control, cabin environmental control and pressurization, and emergency power sources [24]. Figure 1 and Table 2 contains additional electrical system of a more-electric commercial aircraft and their respective energy demand, respectively [13,24].…”

“…The electrical power generated on board by PEMFC can be used to power moving ailerons, nose wheel electric motor, brakes, flight control, cabin environmental control and pressurization, and emergency power sources [24]. Figure 1 and Table 2 contains additional electrical system of a more-electric commercial aircraft and their respective energy demand, respectively [13,24]. At least 700 kW is required to power the additional electrical functions of a more electric aircraft compared to the conventional.…”

Vessel Cold-Ironing Using a Barge Mounted PEM Fuel Cell: Project Scoping and Feasibility.

“…The study includes both a determination of the technical feasibility of the idea as well as an analysis of potential deployment options. Sandia has previously examined the potential for hydrogen and fuel cells in aircraft [3][4][5][6]; construction equipment, electrical generators, and telecom backup [7]; man-portable power [8], and mobile lighting systems [9].…”