Nuvera Fuel Cell Featured at Turin, the Hydrogen City

Nuvera’s automotive fuel cell technology featured in the Fiat Panda Hydrogen was officially presented at the first Hydrogen Olympics in Turin, Italy
Turin, Italy--Nuvera Fuel Cells announced today that Fiat presented the Panda Hydrogen, a fuel cell powered car, at Hy Park, scene of the first ever Hydrogen Olympics.

Hy Park, promoted by Regione Piemonte, is not just a show-case of hydrogen technologies, but the demonstration of Regione system approach where local industries, research centers, academia, together with the Fiat Group, play a leading role in developing hydrogen applications. Hy Park meets the Olympic Winter Games with a new found force and celebrates an extraordinary event: the first Olympics where hydrogen will be used to produce energy. Hy Park takes place in Turin from February 8 – 19.

The Fiat Panda Hydrogen is the first vehicle that features Nuvera’s new Andromeda II stack, which has high power density, cold start capability and extreme durability.

The mass of people attending the Winter Games will be introduced to hydrogen energy through the Hydrogen Olympics, the only other major event taking place in Turin at this time. Fiat presented the Panda Hydrogen to the Regione Piemonte, of which Turin is the capital city, where they also announced a cooperation to develop hydrogen fuelled transportation and the study of a test fleet of Panda Hydrogen cars featuring Nuvera stack technology.

Nuvera Fuel Cells is a global leader in the development and advancement of multi-fuel processing and fuel cell technology committed to providing clean, safe and efficient power solutions. With offices located in Italy and the USA, Nuvera is committed to advancing the commercialization of hydrogen fuel cell power modules for industrial vehicles, equipment and stationary applications, natural gas fuel cell power systems for cogeneration applications, and on-board gasoline fuel processors and fuel cell stacks for automotive applications. Nuvera Fuel Cells Europe is ISO 9001:2000 certified for “Research, Development, Design, Production and Servicing of Fuel Cell Stacks and Fuel Cell Systems.”

Fiat is one of the pioneer companies in the automobile industry, and has produced more than 85 million passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, including no less than 400 models, since 1899, when the company was founded in Turin, Italy. Some of them have represented milestones in the automotive industry. The Fiat Group's Automobiles Sector operates world-wide with the following
brands: Fiat, celebrated for value, economy, and innovation and whose mass produced cars are distributed over almost the entire price class spectrum; Lancia (acquired in 1969) means prestige cars noted for their elegant styling, and comfort; Alfa Romeo (acquired in 1986) is famous as a maker of sport and luxury vehicles of style and distinction; Maserati (acquired in 1992) represents a landmark in the history of the automobile; Ferrari (acquired in 1969), well renowned for unsurpassed design, performance, and luxury, is a legendary automobile that imparts special cachet to its owner. www.fiatautopress.com; www.fiat.com; www.lancia.com; www.alfaromeo.com; www.maserati.com; www.ferrariworld.com



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Region of Piedmont cooperative program for hydrogen fueled transport

Mercedes Bresso, President of the Region of Piedmont, and Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat, announce a wide-ranging cooperative program for hydrogen fueled transport, as foreseen in the protocol of intent signed a the end of December 2005.

Andrea Bairati, Region of Piedmont Assessor of Innovation, and Giuseppe Bonollo, Vice President of Product Portfolio Management at Fiat Auto, also attend the event which takes place at Hy Park, a dedicated area showcasing hydrogen applications during the Olympic Winter Games.

Fiat and Regione Piemonte will cooperate on local and European-level programs over the short and long term. They will promote Piedmont as a key research and development center in this innovative area.

“The cooperation with the Fiat Group – explains President Mercedes Bresso – is strategic also in view of the creation of the "Piemonte Idrogeno" EnterpriseAssociation to promote the development of hydrogen-based technologies applied to transportation and portable and stationary electric power generation systems and to acquire new skills and competitiveness in the sector. We also plan the launch of several strategic projects in 2006 that will immediately involve small, medium, and large industries, the TurinPolytechnic, the Universityof Turin, and regional research centers – Bresso concludes.

Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat, comments: “The cooperation with the Region of Piedmontfor the research and development of hydrogen fueled vehicles allows us to face the future with the knowledge to take things forward.

The Fiat Group intends to play a leading role in this challenge, and I hope that the Piedmonteese region could be a leader at a European level, participating to the EU Research Programmes and attracting funds to generate new competitiveness.”

“The Region of Piedmont - says Andrea Bairati, Assessor of Innovation - has thus contacted the European Community to become a candidate, together with other Italian regions (Lombardy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Veneto, and Friuli Venezia Giulia), as a Hydrogen Com Area for the development of large European demonstration projects of hydrogen-based technologies. Piedmontwishes to play an important role in the Joint Technology Initiative (JTI) for hydrogen to be defined by the European Commission. This initiative, envisaged in the next Research Framework Program FP7 (2007-2013) - Bairati concludes - represents an opportunity for attracting major investments in Italysupporting the growth of skills and development of innovative technologies.”

Fiat will support these initiatives by lending some of its internationally recognized experts, including available resources at the Fiat Research Center in Orbassano and Fiat Auto innovation facilities.

“One major project – specifies Giuseppe Bonollo, Vice President of Product Portfolio Management at Fiat Auto - calls for the study of a Panda Hydrogen lab fleet equipped with instrumentation to measure vehicle and system performance with innovative components under real operating conditions”.

Fiat has realized the first Panda Hydrogen prototype, which represents the city car of the future. It uses technologies that will totally eliminate all negative environmental impact and exploit energy sources more efficiently, including renewable energy sources.
The hydrogen-based fuel cell propulsion unit that efficiently generates electric power for the powertrain system was developed by the Fiat Group in 1999 with the fundamental support from the Italian Research and Environment Ministries. This system is based on Italian technology and know-how and confirms the leadership held by the Region of Piedmont in the hydrogen power technology sector.


Panda Hydrogen

The Panda Hydrogen, a car prototype driven by a hydrogen Fuel Cell, was designed with the aim of safeguarding the environment: one of Fiat’s basic priorities during the development of new models.

The Panda Hydrogen is a true hydrogen prototype with a sturdy, reliable drive system. Most importantly, its vehicle performance and roominess are on a par with those offered by its conventional counterpart. It is the result of a joint venture between Fiat Auto, the Fiat Research Centre and Fiat Powertrain Research & Technology with the support of the Research and Environment Ministries. It was also developed in co-operation with top-quality component suppliers, almost all of them Italian.

Unlike other Fuel Cell prototypes introduced in the past, the Panda Hydrogen incorporates a full power system, i.e. it lacks a drive battery for the accumulation of electrical energy. The new Fuel Cell System (electrical power generator) is able to deliver all the power required by the electric engine to ensure great vehicle handling. This new generation Fuel Cell System offers very high generating efficiencies. The system consists mainly of three fuel cells manufactured by Nuvera (an Italo-American company and a leader in the fuel cell field), an innovative turbo-blower to supply the cells with air, a humidification and cooling system for correct management of reagent gases and a set of auxiliary components, all developed within the Fiat Group.

On the Panda Hydrogen, the Fuel Cell System is housed beneath the floorpan. The fuel cells are made up of several cells connected in series. Inside, the hydrogen and oxygen molecules are forced to react with the aid of a catalyst to produce water and heat. Electrical energy is generated with very high efficiency and zero emissions from the vehicle itself.

The electrical power generation system is supplied with hydrogen at a pressure of 1.5 bars and oxygen contained in the air. It produces electrical energy so efficiently that 60% is available at just 20% of maximum power. The Fuel Cell System installed on the Panda Hydrogen also features excellent performance at low temperatures and a relatively simple construction that makes it particularly suitable for the production of light, sturdy and reliable generators for use on vehicles.

The alternating current three-phase asynchronous electric engine and the transmission are located in the engine compartment together with the various accessories required to operate the system as a whole.

The hydrogen that feeds the Fuel Cell is contained at a pressure of 350 bars in a tank made out of composite material installed beneath the car’s rear floor pan. All the distinguishing features of the New Panda passenger compartment are therefore maintained, including outstanding roominess for four people.

At full power, the Fuel Cell engine on the Panda Hydrogen delivers 60 kW that allows the car to reach a top speed of more than 130 km/h, with acceleration from 0 to 50 km/h in 5 seconds. The car can also easily climb a gradient of 23% at take-off.

The hydrogen tank capacity guarantees the Panda Hydrogen a range of more than 200 km over an urban cycle. Refuelling time is very quick at less than 5 minutes, i.e. comparable to the time taken to refuel a methane car.

The Panda Hydrogen is the latest outcome of a technological development line that has seen Fiat Group companies playing a leading role in the field of alternative minimum environmental impact power units.

Though Fuel Cell propulsion systems will not be widely available before the end of the next decade, Fiat has already been active in their development and application for a few years – as we saw in 2001 with the debut of the Seicento “Elettra H2 Fuel Cell, and then the Seicento Hydrogen. The Panda Hydrogen has now taken up the baton to move research forward from the laboratory prototype stage to that of a field research vehicle.

2006 will see the beginning of the demonstration stage of small Panda Hydrogen fleets, as a forerunner to wide-ranging demonstration programmes promoted and supported by the European Union and by the Italian Ministries and Regions. The ultimate aim is for such vehicles to be marketed within 15 – 20 years.