Demonstration of a Prototype Fuel Cell-Battery Electric Hybrid Truck for Waste Transportation

There are an estimated 179,000 high emission, low miles-per-gallon waste-hauling trucks operating throughout American fleets. Typical garbage trucks have very low duty cycles with a lot of stop-and-go collecting trash from dumpster to dumpster, resulting in some of the lowest fuel economy and highest localized pollution, with each vehicle consuming nearly 8,600 gallons of petroleum fuel per year. Because the pollution is localized, it has an especially significant impact on the health of the general public. In addition, these vehicles have an operating noise exceeding decibel levels of 100, which has been associated with serious hearing damage. The proposed fuel cell powered refuse truck has zero emissions. The proposed powertrain triples the fuel efficiency compared with a conventional diesel powered or even a natural gas refuse truck. The fuel cell power plant provides high energy conversion from fuel to electric power and the electric traction motor provides the most efficient electromechanical power conversion driving the wheels and auxiliary loads. The fuel cell powered refuse truck performance meets or exceed the conventional truck performance, while providing much better handling (smooth acceleration and declaration) with precise control at low speeds, enhancing the refuse collection efficiency with reduced noise for the operators and general public. A design feasibility plan and analysis will be performed to determine the fuel cell power plant; the electric powertrain and electrohydraulic drive system; the optimized powertrain sizing utilizing advanced modeling (power, energy, torque, speed, emission, etc.) and the vehicle level performance over typical commercial and residential operating scenarios. Additionally, the power sizing of energy generation will be measured against energy storage sizing to meet the vehicles optimal total energy for a full operation cycle. A trade study of energy storage sizing, auxiliary electrification, and load demand analysis will be performed to determine the amount of hydrogen fuel consumption required to complete the daily and weekly duty cycles (including harsh seasonal cycles) with special consideration given to hydrogen fueling infrastructure planning and cost tradeoffs. An economic assessment will also be performed, which will include a payback analysis concerning the use of hydrogen-fueled PEM fuel cells in commercial waste-hauling fuel cell hybrid vehicles. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: The fuel cell refuse truck is commercially viable for refuse collection and most of the refuse industries have sorting facility, therefore the required total range is limited, due to lower highway driving. It saves fuel, enhances the operation and extends the operation time allowing fleet reduction. The proposed return on investment is achieved in less than 3 years of operation and the fuel saving over the life of vehicle is over $200,000, while operating at Zero emission. The fuel cell power plant allows mobility via renewable energy.