Parameter design and energy management of a fuel cell electric vehicle

• Main Author: Chua, Manfred James Tze Kiat
• Other Authors: Lyu Chen
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2021
• Subjects: Engineering::Mechanical engineering::Alternative, renewable energy sources
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/150554
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The world is pivoting towards sustainable low carbon transport alternatives in the bid to prevent climate change. One such alternative are fuel cell electric vehicles. However, fuel cell electric vehicles are less efficient than pure battery electric vehicles due to energy losses in the hydrogen supply chain. This project aimed to increase the efficiency of a fuel cell electric vehicle. A fuel cell electric vehicle model was designed in the MATLAB and Simulink environment, modelled after the 2021 Toyota Mirai. Through simulating different parameters of the vehicle as well as the energy management system of a fuel cell electric vehicle, effects of the parameters on efficiency were investigated. The results indicated that right-sizing the electric motor of a fuel cell electric vehicle could provide up to 26.6% increased range compared to a wrongly sized electric motor. Regenerative braking provided up to 18.75% increase in efficiency with properly tuned control algorithms. The results from the research project, could assist in reducing the operating costs for fuel cell electric vehicles in real-world scenarios therefore increasing the relevance of the fuel cell electric vehicle as a low-carbon transport alternative.