Analysis of a fuel cell hybrid commuter railway vehicle

This study presents paper presents an analysis of the potential CO2 savings that could be gained through the introduction of hydrogen-powered fuel cells on a commuter-style railway route. Vehicle is modelled as a fuel cell series hybrid. The analysis consists of power/energy flow models of a fuel cell stack, battery pack and hybrid drive controller. The models are implemented in a custom C# application and are capable of providing key parametric information of the simulated journey and individual energy drive components. A typical commuter return journey between Stratford Upon Avon and Birmingham is investigated. The fuel cell stack and battery pack behaviour is assessed for different stack sizes, battery sizes and control strategies to evaluate the performance of the overall system with the aim of understanding the optimum component configuration. Finally, the fuel (H2) requirements are compared with typical diesel and hybrid-diesel powered vehicles with the aim of understanding the potential energy savings gained from such a fuel cell hybrid vehicle.