IIT Bombay Develops Efficient Fuel Cell EV Design; Check Details Here

The new study from IIT Bombay is the first to analyse the combined use of EES and TES to determine the optimal sizes for each component: the radiator, fuel cell, EES, and TES systems. Know details here

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay's Department of Energy Science and Engineering has introduced an optimisation methodology developed by Prof. Prakash C. Ghosh and Prime Minister’s Research Fellow (PMRF) Nadiya Philip. This methodology can recommend the ideal weight and size distribution for the components of a fuel cell electric vehicle, enhancing their efficiency and aiding in their commercialisation.

The new study from IIT Bombay is the first to consider the combined use of EES and TES to determine the ideal sizes for each component, including the radiator, fuel cell, EES, and TES systems. The team employed a mathematical technique called pinch analysis to calculate the optimal sizes for these components.

Electric Vehicles

In India, the electric vehicle market share increased by 41% in 2024, according to data from the government Vahan portal, with the majority of sales being two-wheelers. An electric vehicle can be of two types: Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) or Fuel Cell Electric vehicles (FCEVs), apart from hybrid vehicles that use a combination of any two types of engines. While a BEV uses batteries that need to be charged, FCEV uses fuel cells to power the vehicle.

Prof. Ghosh and Nadiya Philip from IIT Bombay have proposed a new thermal management system comprising a compact radiator and a thermal energy storage (TES) unit to address the issue of ‘oversized radiators’. The team has also developed a generic methodology for recommending the ideal sizes for the radiator and TES unit for optimal performance.

According to Nadiya, “the use of TES provides two main advantages: one, it stores some quantity of the thermal energy generated by the fuel cell stack, thus allowing a reduction in radiator size, and two, it maintains a constant temperature for the coolant (used to cool the fuel cell) entering back into the fuel cell. Additionally, the thermal energy stored in the TES system can be utilised for different applications like cold startup, cabin heating, or preheating reactant gases (hydrogen and oxygen) for use in fuel cells.”

“The inclusion of EES systems in fuel cell vehicles helps to reduce the size of the fuel cell system by taking care of the dynamic load demands,” explains Nadiya. When accelerating the vehicle, while most of the power comes from the fuel cell, the EES provides the peak power, rescuing the power drawn from the fuel cell alone and allowing a smaller-sized fuel cell system.

The researchers have estimated that the proposed method can allow a reduction of the radiator size in heavy-duty vehicles like trucks by almost 2.5 times lower than normal by simply optimising the sizes of the parts. This method can potentially direct how to optimally integrate different energy sources and thermal systems in fuel cell vehicles based on the manufacturer's preferences. Whether they want a low-cost vehicle with minimal range and power or a high-cost vehicle with higher range and power, the IIT Bombay method can help them choose the best solution possible. This research can aid in the design of more efficient and cost-effective cooling systems in such automobiles.

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