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(Wed 24 Jan 07) The Ford Edge With HySeries Drive is a hydrogen fuel cell hybrid with an unusual degree of flexibility in its design.
"This vehicle offers Ford the ultimate in flexibility in researching advanced propulsion technology," says Ford spokesman Gerhard Schmidt. "We could take the fuel cell power system out and replace it with a down-sized diesel, gasoline engine or any other powertrain connected to a small electric generator to make electricity like the fuel cell does now." In its current form, the Edge uses a "real-world" version of the powerplant featured in the Airstream concept unveiled at the Detroit Show earlier this month (see <link>news story</link>). For around 25 miles of its first journey each day it runs entirely on electricity stored in the battery pack. When the battery charge falls to about 40%, the hydrogen fuel cell kicks in and starts to create more electricity. Depending on how the car is driven, the 4.5kg of hydrogen in the tank can extended the range by anything from 200 to 400 miles. The shorter the average journey, the lower the percentage of time the fuel cell operates, so drivers who average less than 50 miles each day should see fuel economy equivalent to over 80mpg. On longer trips this drops to just over 40mpg, though emissions of the type usually tested remain at zero in either case. The HySeries Drive powertrain is smaller, lighter, cheaper and less complex than similar systems, but that doesn't make the Edge a production reality. Ford acknowledges that fuel cells need to be far more durable than they are now, and that the lithium-ion batteries which seem to be best for the purpose are prohibitively expensive.
A proper infrastructure for making hydrogen available to the public is also required, and the fact that fuel cell vehicles currently cost several million dollars each is a bit of a niggle too. Previous: Careful On Cold Mornings Next: Special Edition Chryslers |
