Kia’s fuel cell SUV runs clean and quiet
Graeme Fletcher, For CanWest News Service /December 06, 2007
Source: Driving.ca
http://autos.canada.com/news/story.html?
id=35bcf8f5-4009-4db1-8c44-aa30bde4d9aa
Look at the Kia Sportage Fuel Cell and it could be just another SUV. Turn the ignition key, however, and the difference is deafening. Aside from the slight whirring from the various fans needed to cool and feed the fuel cell, there is nothing but silence. It just sits there waiting for someone to prod the accelerator pedal. Prod it, though, and the Sportage takes off with a burst of energy only an electric-powered car can produce — the electric motor’s peak power is developed at the first rev. On the test loop the Sportage FC tackled some fairly serious hills without missing a beat.
The Sportage FC features an 80-kilowatt fuel cell stack (108 horsepower), an electric motor, a 152-volt lithium-polymer battery pack and three hydrogen tanks that store 3.5 kilograms of hydrogen at 5,000 psi. This combination produces a top speed of 150 kilometres an hour and a driving range of 384 kilometres. While the zero-to-100-km/h acceleration time of around 12 seconds sounds leisurely, it actually feels significantly faster because of the low- and mid-range punch.
The Sportage also functions in the cold, which is the hardest test of all for a fuel cell. After cold-soaking the Sportage for 24 hours at -15C, it was started and driven to 80 km/h in less than a minute. Not so long ago, it would take up to five minutes to get the fuel cell to start.
The one thing that did stand out during the test was the brake pedal feel.
Hybrids (the fuel cell is the ultimate hybrid) typically have a really artificial brake pedal feel because of the combination of regenerative and hydraulic braking that’s going on. The Sportage’s pedal had a surprisingly real feel.
The drawback with the current fuel cell is the lifecycle of just 1,500 hours (or approximately three years of normal use) before there is an appreciable decrease in performance of 15 per cent. This is a common complaint that many manufacturers are less than open about — it tends to get swept under the carpet.
This is why Kia is well underway developing its next-generation stack. When the company’s 100-kW fuel cell debuts, it will arrive in a vehicle specifically designed for the purpose — a Sorento-sized vehicle riding on a 2,850-millimetre wheelbase (as with most other fuel cell vehicles, the Sportage FC has been modified to accommodate the necessary paraphernalia). A 134-hp electric motor drives the front wheels, and a 27-hp electric motor powers each of the rear wheels.
The 100-kW fuel cell also has the ability to start when temperatures drop to as low as -30C and uses super-capacitors rather than a lithium-polymer battery. It also boasts the ability to run from rest to 100 km/h in 10 seconds, has a top speed of 170 km/h and a range of 600 km thanks to its twin tanks pressurized to 10,000 psi.
The other key goal is a real-world lifecycle of 5,000 hours. It boasts an operating efficiency of around 60%, which is three times that of a conventional internal-combustion engine.