University College of London Gets New Lab to Study Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicles
An old fashioned research lab within University College of London Mechanical Engineering is set to be turned into a state-of-the-art facility to research fuel cell hybrid electric vehicles.
The engineering department has won a grant of £180,000 for the alternation which will commence in September and be completed by the end of the year.
The latest lab centre will enable study into hydrogen-fueled power plants, and initial researches will focus on exploring the possibility of fuel cells in hybrid buses.
The grant is part of a three-year, £4 million scheme – involving University College of London, BAE Systems and Alexander Dennis, and funded by the Technology Strategy Board – to build hybrid bus technology, searching for critical fuel savings using a number of innovations.
The bus is a series' hybrid, which means the electric-powered motor is the only way of providing power to the wheels. The motor responds to electric power from either the lithium-ion battery pack or from a generator activated by a diesel engine. Computer algorithms ascertain how much of the power comes from the battery, and how much comes from the engine at any given time.
One of the best aspects of the technology is the ability to capture in the battery energy that would otherwise have been lost on braking. The bus was recently awarded ‘Low Carbon Emission Bus’ certification by proving that its greenhouse gas emissions were over 30% lower than an average diesel bus with the same passenger-carrying capacity.
Principal investigator Professor Alan Smith (UCL Space and Climate Physics) said: “This is an exciting project, as it allows us to apply systems engineering techniques that we routinely use for space technology projects to projects a bit closer to home. It’s great to see the buses that we’re working on rolling down Gower Street every day."
On the UCL side, the project is managed by the Centre for Systems Engineering, as a collaboration between staff from UCL Space and Climate Physics, UCL Mechanical Engineering, and UCL Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering.
The funding for a fuel cell laboratory extends the opportunity to push the boundaries in system design, operation and control with benefits to the environment in terms of reduced emissions (both exhaust and acoustic).
For more information about UCL Space and Climate Physics, UCL Mechanical Engineering, and UCL Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, follow the links above.
Image: Fuel cell hybrid bus.
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