Techno-economic evaluation of a hybrid fuel cell vehicle with on-board MeOH-to-H₂ processor

A new on-board MeOH-to-H₂ processor, which is a combination of multi-tube annular membrane methanol reformer (MTAMMR), plate-fin heat exchangers, fuel tank, and auxiliary equipment, is installed into the hybrid fuel cell vehicle named as the methanol reformer-based hybrid fuel cell (MRHFC) vehicle. Compared to the high-pressure hydrogen tank in the direct hydrogen fuel cell (DHHFC) vehicle, e.g. 2016 Toyota Mirai hybrid fuel cell vehicle, we found that (i) the estimated size of the MeOH-to-H₂ processor is smaller than that of the hydrogen tank by 46.6% if the sizes of auxiliary equipment are not taken into account, and (ii) the estimated capital cost of the stainless steel MeOH-to-H₂ processor is lower than that of the hydrogen tank by 77% if the present high cost of the tubular membrane is ignored. To explore the fuel economy of the MRHFC vehicle with different batteries, the urban/highway driving cycles in terms of the acceleration performance and the hybrid ratio (HR) of battery power and motor peak power is investigated by an advanced vehicle simulator (ADVISOR). The simulations show that (i) the high HR can reduce the total cost as well as increase the fuel economy of the MRHFC vehicle, and (ii) the Li-ion battery is better equipped to ensure the high fuel economy and avoid the undesired state of charge (SOC) of battery while HR = 0.6.