Experimental assessment of fuel cell/supercapacitor hybrid system for scooters

This paper presents an experimental assessment of fuel cell hybrid propulsion systems for scooters based on a modular 1.2 kW PEM fuel cell. The tests of the hybrid system are carried out using a programmable electronic load. Different configurations of the fuel cell/battery and the fuel cell/supercapacitor hybrid systems are explored. Both systems demonstrate their ability to deliver the requested load satisfactorily. The distributions of the fuel cell power delivery, although different between the two systems, are within the region where the fuel cell efficiency is approximately constant. As a result, the rates of fuel consumption show no discernable difference between the two systems for all three driving cycles considered. in addition to the fuel consumption, considerations including bus voltage, cost and packaging issues suggest that the supercapacitor has advantages over the battery for the use as secondary energy storage in fuel cell hybrid propulsion system for scooters. (C) 2009 international Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.