What is F-Cell and how safe is it?
During a one-day seminar on alternative energy, a Singaporean raised a question: Are fuel-cell powered cars safe for passengers considering that hydrogen is flammable and has the potential to explode?
Andreas Truckenbrodt, director of fuel cell and alternative powertrain vehicles at DaimlerChrysler AG, said numerous crash tests had been conducted at the Mercedes-Benz A-Class F-Cell testing ground on this issue.
"We started the design with the hydrogen tanks and the fuel cell stack. We had to ensure that there would be no leaks and that if there was, there should be an immediate shutdown of supply of the hydrogen," he said, adding that DaimlerChrysler invests six billion euros (US$7.38 billion) per year for fuel cell research.
But what is F-Cell? The principle of F-Cell technology was discovered by Sir William Grove, a British physicist, back in 1839. The F-Cell adopted the reverse electrolysis process in which a chemical reaction takes place between hydrogen and oxygen and results in electrical energy, heat and water.
The F-Cell has a sandwich-like structure. The polymer Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) is put between two gas-permeable electrodes of graphite paper. The hydrogen is introduced on one side of the PEM while the other side is exposed to oxygen or simply air.
The entire drive system -- the system module, the fuel cell module, the power distribution unit, the hydrogen tanks and the battery -- is located in the underbody of the car.
DaimlerChrysler engineer Eric Hartmann told a group of Southeast Asian journalists on a visit to the F-Cell maintenance facility in Pandan Loop, Singapore, that there were eight hydrogen censors in the car.
"We have four censors at the fuel cell stack itself and each at the two-hydrogen tanks, another at the electric motor and another inside the cabin," he said.
Even at the maintenance facility, there is a central control unit, known as the Hydrogen Detection Leakage Panel, which links all the hydrogen detectors to the ventilation system, ceiling lights, car, audio and visual alarms.
The first F-Cell car, which was presented by DaimlerChrysler to Singapore's National Environment Agency, will be tested and driven under tropical climate conditions for a two-year period. Four other cars will be presented to BP Singapore Pte Ltd., Conrad Centennial Singapore, Michelin and Lufthansa German Airlines.
During the period, the cars will be closely monitored to get technical data and feedback.
John Harris of Ballard Power Systems said the life of a fuel cell stack was expected to reach 5,000 hours for a passenger car and 10,000 hours for a bus.
For the time being, 60 left-drive-system Mercedes-Benz A-Class have been tested in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Berlin and Singapore.
These cars only emit pure water, causing another Singaporean to fear that they would make the roads in Singapore wet, causing more problems such as mosquitoes.
Truckenbrodt could not hide his smile as he replied: "The amount of water produced by the F-Cell is not significant."
-- Primastuti Handayani