It was fitting to have a media event surrounding the inaugural visit of the FordEdge HySeries Drive, the world's first drivable plug-in fuel cell hybrid created by joint development between Ford and Ballard Power Systems, in Vancouver, Canada, where Ballard is located. The car has logged over 5,500 miles on a road tour within the U.S., from various auto shows to Washington D.C. where US President Bush even had a chance to plug and play. All the more fitting because this media event came one day before Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger attended the first Pacific Economic Summit in the same Canadian city to sign a memorandum of understanding to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to further discuss talks of a Hydrogen Highway all along the West Coast from California on upwards to Vancouver by 2010. This was an invitation only forum to discuss economic opportunities, and in particular, clean technology. Ballard's President, John Sheridan was there with this zero emissions crossover | | This isn't your everyday Ford Edge; this one emits zero tailpipe emissions. (Photo: Tony Kan, American Auto Press) |
to discuss clean energy solutions for business.
So back to the Ford Edge HySeries, which stands for “Hybrid” electrical engine combined with a “Series” layout of Ballard's hydrogen fuel cell(APU which stands for Auxiliary Power Unit) that electrochemically combines hydrogen with oxygen to create electricity and water byproduct. That electricity recharges the lithium ion battery pack that powers the main electric motor. Based on the current production Edge crossover, the HySeries model, however, does not carry a typical hybrid model of combustible engine sharing power with the electric motor. The Edge HySeries | Even President George Dubbya was in on the action. (Photo: Ford)
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is a fully legitimate zero emissions concept vehicle that only spews out water vapor, leaving a trail of droplets wherever it goes.
In the center of the chassis running lengthwise is the cylindrical hydrogen tank that stores up to 350 bar of compressed hydrogen at 5,000 psi. Beside the tank on the passenger side of the vehicle is the 130 kW lithium-ion battery pack and on the driver side,the 35 kW Fuel Cell Auxiliary Power Unit. From there, engineers assemble the Edge with modified floor boards. Even though there's a lot more equipment housed underneath the seats, there are no compromises in legroom or storage space in the cabin. Ford has applied its forward thinking to designing a flexible architecture to accommodate different powertrain combinations without | | Plug it in, charge it up! (Photo: Tony Kan, American Auto Press) |
having to redesign the entire vehicle. For example, instead of a fuel cell generator, a small gasoline, ethanol or diesel engine could be used.
The front and rear electric motors are rated at a combined output of 174 horsepower and 336 pound-feet of torque. Mated with a 10.1:1 one-speed transmission, the Edge HySeries can achieve a top speed of 85 mph. At full charge, the HySeries has a combined driving range of 225 miles, though time between hydrogen fill-ups can be stretched all the way to 400 miles. If the travel time is short, such as running errands, the main is drawn not from the hydrogen reserve, but the rechargeable batteries. The first 25 miles is powered by the 36-volt lithium ion battery electricity alone. Once drained to 40 percent capacity, the fuel cell kicks in to maintain the level battery capacity and thus acting more like a generator than a hybrid | | No ordinary fuel tank, but then again, hydrogen is no ordinary fuel. (Photo: Tony Kan, American Auto Press) |
engine. The Edge HySeries achieves a combined city/highway gasoline equivalent fuel economy rating of 41 mpg and for those who drive less than 50 miles each day, the average jumps to about 80 mpg.
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