Some day opening the hood may reveal a fuel cell using a microchannel fuel processor. We have developed a fuel processor for this application.
Through the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Transportation Technology, as well as private industries, the development of a lightweight, compact fuel processor is underway to provide hydrogen gas from traditional liquid hydrocarbon fuels for use of PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) fuel cells for electric vehicles. This project is designed to serve as a transition technology between conventional internal combustion and zero-emission electric vehicles. This class of hybrid electric vehicle would result in a 20% reduction in automotive carbon dioxide emissions nationwide, and since these fuel systems are over twice as efficient as internal combustion engines, the nations fossil fuel consumption could decrease significantly. The target fuel efficiency is 80 miles per gallon. The technology also has the important advantage of utilizing the existing fossil fuel distribution infrastructure throughout the country, as it becomes phased out in the future.
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