Shipping and seaport infrastructure are significant sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. According to the International Maritime Organization, maritime transport creates over 900 million tons of CO2annually. Global economies rely on shipping to get their products to the consumer, with up to 90% of all foreign goods flowing through ports on container ships, but the toll on the environment is substantial. And those living near busy seaports are exposed to dangerous levels of air pollution caused by emissions from diesel engines on the commercial vehicles at the port.
例如，叫做大型工业车辆container handlers从集装箱船舶装载并卸载容器。每个容器处理程序最多可发出144吨CO2每年，大港口可以在现场有数百台机器。将柴油发动机交换为绿色替代品的一个集装箱处理程序将具有与我们从我们的道路的32个气动乘用车的效果相同的效果。
From passenger cars to long-haul trucks, locomotives, and heavy equipment, internal combustion engines (ICEs) are being replaced with greener alternatives. Battery-powered electric vehicles have captured much of the spotlight, with an increasing number of options available to consumers in both car models and charging locations. But at ports, the ICEs are diesel engines in heavy-duty industrial vehicles such as yard trucks, forklifts, and container handlers. Batteries and the required charging infrastructure don’t work for many of these operations.
That’s where fuel cells can help.
Enabling Electrification
燃料电池非常适合于具有重型设备的位置，必须为长时间转移而具有最小的加油停机。重新填充氢气燃料电池在填充类似尺寸的储气箱的情况下大约相同的时间，而再充电用于重型电子车辆的电池需要数小时。燃料电池提供车辆所需的功率密度和范围，使其通过8小时的换档。专注于商用车辆燃料电池技术的一家公司是Nuvera。
“Fuel cells are better than batteries whenever long range is required, or when battery charging takes too long—making them good for boats, planes, trucks, buses, and emergency response vehicles,” says Gus Block, a founding employee and director of Nuvera Fuel Cells.
“当电池太大而无法适应车辆左右，他们也需要它们，以至于他们会妥协有效载荷，”块说。“例如，电容器处理程序所需的电池将是小大象的大小。”
Nuvera的电子系列燃料电池发动机之一。图像信用：Nuvera燃料电池。
一种不需要充电的电动替代方案
A fuel cell produces no exhaust other than heat and water. With no moving parts, its design is simple in principle: a membrane is sandwiched between two electrodes. When the hydrogen fuel meets the anode, it is split into a proton and an electron. The proton passes through the membrane to the cathode, where it meets oxygen. The electron takes a longer route between electrodes, traveling through an electrical circuit. The flow of electrons creates the power for the motor. At the cathode, the protons, electrons, and oxygen combine to form water.
Using modeling and real-time simulation enables Nuvera’s engineers to iterate on their design quickly and allows for experimentation without putting a real engine at risk.
The science is simple, but perfecting the recipe for a high-performance power source is hard. Many factors govern the multiple reactions inside a fuel cell, and a software control system must account for them all to squeeze the most power and efficiency out of the device. The control system makes constant corrections based on feedback.
“One of the greatest design challenges is maintaining proper hydration to the cells,” says Pierre-François Quet, Nuvera’s chief engineer. “Not enough water and protons don’t pass through; too much and the cells flood.”
它们的系统通过改变冷却剂温度并通过操纵气流来增加水化以增加或减少蒸发。设计控制其燃料电池发动机的软件 - 通常包括数百个燃料电池与它们之间的冷却剂一起堆叠在一起，加上冷却剂泵和空气压缩机-Nuvera使用matlab® and Simulink®。植物的燃料电池模型引擎comprises equations governing the electrical and chemical reactions and the temperatures and pressures of water and gases and coolant—is also implemented in Simulink, Quet says. With this simulation in place, Nuvera writes algorithms to refine things like coolant flow in order to eke out the best performance. Once the algorithm is finalized, Simulink translates it into code that will run on a processor embedded in the actual fuel cell engine.
困扰®top-loading container handler. Image credit: Hyster-Yale Group.
The control algorithms also account for many operating conditions. In simulation, Nuvera tests the system in low and high ambient temperatures, and in low- and high-humidity environments.
为了在更现实的设置中进行实验，Nuvera执行硬件循环测试：它们将其发动机模型加载到由SpeedgoAT制作的自定义计算机上，该计算机被定制为具有相同的输入和输出作为物理引擎，并且可以实时模拟其操作。运行燃料电池引擎的相同嵌入式计算机连接到SpeedgoAt框，并从Simulink生成的C代码编程。万博1manbetx
This setup adds rigor while enabling Nuvera’s engineers to iterate on their design quickly. It also allows for experimentation without putting a real engine at risk.
一种不同的混合动力车
实际上，所有燃料电池车辆都是电杂交的，由燃料电池和电池供电。在一些情况下，燃料电池提供涓流充电以保持电池充电，而在其他配置中，燃料电池和电池两者通过电动总线供电。电池也用于接受车辆的再生动力，例如当叉车制动或降低负载时。
Quet’s team first had to build a model of the lithium-ion battery in Simulink, based on data provided by the manufacturer and collected in-house. They also wrote algorithms that could estimate the battery’s state of charge based on things they could measure—its voltage and current. They then used Simulink to program the control algorithm. The system needs to maintain an ideal level of battery charge, so there’s always enough energy for peak load and enough capacity to reabsorb energy. The Nuvera team also designed the optimal size for various system components by testing the algorithms in a range of simulated forklift and load scenarios.
Best of Both Worlds
燃料电池与电池和冰和冰相同。像电池一样，它们是可扩展安静的，而且它们不会产生有害的排放。但燃料电池车还提供汽油和柴油动力冰车中的长距离和快速加油时间。氢气可以在燃料箱中的压力下储存，使其能够容纳比相同尺寸的电池更大的能量，因此而不是停止再充电或交换电池，您可以操作车辆长或长电池供电等效，花费几分钟填充油箱。
One use of Nuvera’s fuel cell engines is in forklifts made by their parent company, Hyster-Yale Group. Nuvera has also integrated two of its E-45 fuel cell engines into a Hyster®将在洛杉矶港口使用的集装箱处理程序，类似于照片中显示的模型。通过将柴油发动机更换在该车辆中的燃料电池供电的电动动力传动系统，128公吨CO2可以每年避免。商业和工业车辆中的柴油发动机是碳排放的源泉，污染物的源泉，可使空气质量减少。Nuvera与其他制造商合作，使用燃料电池来电气，使公共汽车，火车和专业车辆能够显着降低排放。
困扰®fuel cell–powered forklift. Image credit: Hyster-Yale Group.
Fuel cells are scalable and quiet, don’t produce harmful emissions, and offer the long range and the short downtime found in gasoline and diesel-powered ICE vehicles.
