4G光元：通用汽車公司和利勃海爾航空航天公司將共同開發(fā)基于氫燃料電池的飛機(jī)輔助動(dòng)力裝置（APU）演示模塊。 該項(xiàng)目基于通用汽車的 Hydrotec 技術(shù)，這種技術(shù)應(yīng)用于氫燃料電池堆中。

通用汽車已經(jīng)制造了氫燃料電池汽車原型，并計(jì)劃在火車和飛機(jī)上應(yīng)用同樣的技。 周四的飛機(jī)動(dòng)力公告是本周通用汽車關(guān)于電氣化、自主、低排放未來(lái)交通計(jì)劃的最新消息。

通用公司飛機(jī)燃料電池交易是與歐洲的利勃海爾航空航天公司( Liebherr-Aerospace )達(dá)成的，有一點(diǎn)是需要提前說(shuō)明的：目前燃料電池技術(shù)還不能推動(dòng)飛機(jī)。 相反，它將替代位于飛機(jī)尾部的輔助動(dòng)力裝置 (APU)，當(dāng)飛機(jī)在地面上或在飛行中發(fā)生緊急情況時(shí)，它會(huì)產(chǎn)生電力和空中動(dòng)力。

在不久的將來(lái)，更強(qiáng)大的燃料電池系統(tǒng)就能直接驅(qū)動(dòng)電動(dòng)機(jī)驅(qū)動(dòng)飛機(jī)螺旋槳。通用汽車 Hydrotec 全球執(zhí)行官 Charlie Freese 堅(jiān)信這一點(diǎn)，并補(bǔ)充表示，現(xiàn)在雖然不行，但隨著時(shí)間的推移，我們將會(huì)看到飛機(jī)驅(qū)動(dòng)成為燃料電池的應(yīng)用之一。 他同時(shí)指出。 Hydrotec 是通用汽車氫動(dòng)力系統(tǒng)和動(dòng)力技術(shù)的品牌名稱。

通用汽車與利勃海爾的交易

通用汽車正在轉(zhuǎn)向利勃海爾航空航天公司，以使用通用汽車的核心燃料電池技術(shù)，并將其集成到飛機(jī)制造商和政府航空監(jiān)管機(jī)構(gòu)的演示系統(tǒng)中。

利勃海爾航空航天公司已經(jīng)制造了飛機(jī)起落架系統(tǒng)、飛行控制和執(zhí)行器、電子和熱管理系統(tǒng)。 瑞士和德國(guó)的母公司利勃海爾以巨型礦用卡車和起升高度為 775 英尺的起重機(jī)而聞名。

通用汽車將提供基于通用汽車 Hydrotec 技術(shù)的氫燃料電池堆。 燃料電池結(jié)合氫氣和空氣（氧氣）。 反應(yīng)放出水、熱和電子（電）。 利勃海爾將在其法國(guó)圖盧茲工廠建造演示裝置。 根據(jù)聯(lián)合發(fā)告，演示器將結(jié)合通用汽車精密制造的燃料電池Hydrotec 動(dòng)力立方體和燃料電池系統(tǒng)，以及通用汽車的控制裝置和模型。

輔助動(dòng)力裝置（APU）通常位于飛機(jī)的后部。 連接到發(fā)
電機(jī)，它可以在主發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)關(guān)閉時(shí)提供電力。 在飛行中的緊急情況下，在停機(jī)坪,它提供電力和加壓空氣動(dòng)力來(lái)控制飛機(jī)，并為客艙加壓。 APU 無(wú)法在飛行中或在地面上推動(dòng)飛機(jī)運(yùn)動(dòng)和飛行：它還不夠強(qiáng)大，也沒(méi)有做針對(duì)提供推力進(jìn)行的優(yōu)化。

為什么要更換已經(jīng)工作的 APU？

飛機(jī)渦輪輔助動(dòng)力裝置自 1960 年代開始使用。 除飛機(jī)外，柴油發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)除了用于內(nèi)燃機(jī) APU 還用于冷卻冷藏卡車和一些大型啟動(dòng)建筑設(shè)備上。 在噴氣式飛機(jī)上，地面 APU 運(yùn)行，而不是效率較低的機(jī)翼下噴氣發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)。 APU 連接到單獨(dú)的發(fā)電機(jī)以提供電力。

對(duì) APU 的擔(dān)憂是它燃燒碳?xì)淙剂?，增加了污染?此外，如果飛機(jī)失去發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)動(dòng)力，而失去發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)動(dòng)力的一種方式是 JP-8 [噴氣燃料] 的負(fù)載不佳，APU可能也無(wú)法啟動(dòng)，因?yàn)樗褂孟嗤娜剂显础?還有兩個(gè)額外的備份，一個(gè)沖壓渦輪機(jī) (RAT)，一個(gè)從機(jī)身彈出并使用氣流產(chǎn)生電力或液壓動(dòng)力的風(fēng)車，以及一個(gè)在飛機(jī)在電源之間切換時(shí)提供動(dòng)力的電池組。 但 RAT 每年只接受幾次測(cè)試； 如果燃料電池 APU 被證明足夠可靠，它可能會(huì)使沖壓空氣渦輪機(jī)變得不必要。

實(shí)際上，飛機(jī)的噴氣發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)的功率比 APU 渦輪機(jī)功率大 100 倍，所以，目前的燃料電池APU 旨在提供電力而不是推進(jìn)力。

通用汽車和利勃海爾認(rèn)為飛機(jī)上的燃料電池動(dòng)力裝置更高效、更可靠。 要想獲得認(rèn)證然后出售給飛機(jī)制造商這可是一個(gè)偉大歷程。 這就是航空航天的產(chǎn)品，比陸地產(chǎn)品要嚴(yán)格很多倍。您首先必須為機(jī)身飛行準(zhǔn)備好技術(shù)，在空中對(duì)其進(jìn)行評(píng)估，然后將其作為合格產(chǎn)品發(fā)布。 然后你才可以開始將它擴(kuò)展到飛機(jī)的其他用途。

改用燃料電池 APU 的另一個(gè)好處：氫和氧結(jié)合產(chǎn)生的水蒸氣可以代替裝載在大型飛機(jī)上的部分或全部 2 噸水（500 加侖），用于洗手間或?yàn)轱w機(jī)加濕。

通用汽車正在與西屋制動(dòng)合作開發(fā)燃料電池驅(qū)動(dòng)的機(jī)車。 Wabtec（代表 Westinghouse Air Brake）技術(shù)代表了 Wabco、MotivePower Industries 和 GE Transportation 之間的合并。

通用汽車電氣化和氫能周

6 月 14 日，通用汽車在電氣化和氫能周表示，到 2025 年，它將額外花費(fèi) 350 億美元開發(fā)電動(dòng)汽車、自動(dòng)駕駛汽車、美國(guó)電池廠以及用于鐵路機(jī)車和固定電源的燃料電池。 通用汽車在燃料電池汽車方面的研究已有 15 年多的歷史，但以往并不像今天這樣把燃料電池放在重要和優(yōu)先位置。 而現(xiàn)在的飛機(jī)應(yīng)用是創(chuàng)建燃料電池的第一步。

電池技術(shù)比燃料電池技術(shù)發(fā)展的更成熟。 但電池的重量遠(yuǎn)比燃料電池加儲(chǔ)罐重。不管是壓縮氫還是液態(tài)氫目的只有一個(gè)，就是在一定空間內(nèi)存儲(chǔ)更多的氫氣，提供更多動(dòng)力。

氫燃料電池動(dòng)力對(duì)于行駛相同路線或起終點(diǎn)在相同地點(diǎn)的地面車輛特別有用：轉(zhuǎn)運(yùn)站點(diǎn)、鐵路站場(chǎng)和機(jī)場(chǎng)。 這些地點(diǎn)的加油站可以為該地區(qū)大部分燃料電池商用提供服務(wù)。 例如，美國(guó)大約有 30 個(gè)集裝箱船港口和 5,000 個(gè)公共機(jī)場(chǎng)，而在美國(guó) 400 萬(wàn)英里的鋪砌道路上行駛的汽車和卡車加油站超過(guò) 15萬(wàn)個(gè)。而鐵路軌道卻只有160,000 英里。

一輛從加利福尼亞長(zhǎng)灘港出發(fā)的氫燃料 18 輪卡車可以穿過(guò) 80 號(hào)州際公路到達(dá)新澤西州紐瓦克港，中途只需要三到四個(gè)加氫站站即可跑完全程，比裝載 100 至 300 加侖柴油的 18 輪柴油車。 加油所需的時(shí)間與泵送等量的汽油或柴油一樣長(zhǎng)。 根據(jù)計(jì)算，如果是一輛純電動(dòng)的 18 輪車需要 10,000 到 15,000 磅的電池才能行駛 300 到 500 英里。 這減少了 18 輪車允許的最大載重量：卡車、拖車、動(dòng)力裝置、能源供應(yīng)和貨物為 8萬(wàn)磅。 （300 加侖柴油，可行駛 2,000 英里，重 2,100 磅。）

2007 雪佛蘭 Equinox 燃料電池電動(dòng)汽車

通用汽車過(guò)去曾致力于燃料電池汽車的研發(fā)。迄今為止沒(méi)有像純電動(dòng)汽車技術(shù)那樣成熟，部分原因是美國(guó)只有大約 50 個(gè)加氫站，絕大多數(shù)在加利福尼亞。

燃料電池會(huì)飛嗎？

有些公司正在開發(fā)由電池組驅(qū)動(dòng)的短途空中出租車，其中一些飛機(jī)被提議為自動(dòng)駕駛以降低成本。 因此，燃料電池推進(jìn)是否是商業(yè)航空公司的問(wèn)題，還有待于時(shí)間證明。但綠色航空是未來(lái)的發(fā)展方向。

配備燃料電池 APU 的飛機(jī)并不會(huì)很快升空。 展望未來(lái)，燃料電池 作為推進(jìn)器的飛機(jī)也不會(huì)將你從紐約帶到倫敦的直接解決方案（紐約到倫敦距離約為5584.01公里，大約是3469.74英里或3015海里，最快飛行需要5小時(shí)到）。 這是不同級(jí)別的挑戰(zhàn)。 燃料電池可能會(huì)有一些區(qū)域性的短距離的應(yīng)用。

Planes, Trains and Automobiles: If It Moves, GM Will Build Hydrogen Fuel Cells
Bill Howard
Forbes Staff
Updated: Jun 17, 2021
GM Hydrotec fuel cell
General Motors and Liebherr-Aerospace will jointly develop a hydrogen fuel cell-based auxiliary power unit (APU) demonstrator module for aircraft. The project is based on GM’s Hydrotec technology, such as in this hydrogen fuel cell stack. Steve Fecht/GM
General Motors has built hydrogen fuel-cell automobile prototypes and it plans to do the same for trains and now airplanes. Thursday’s airplane-power announcement is the most recent of this week’s GM news about plans for an electrified, autonomous, low-emissions future for transportation.

The airplane fuel-cell deal is with Europe’s Liebherr-Aerospace and there’s a big asterisk: The fuel cell technology wouldn’t propel the plane. Instead, it would be a replacement for the auxiliary power unit (APU) that sits in the tail of the aircraft and generates electrical and air power when the plane is on the ground or during an in-flight emergency.


Could more powerful fuel cell systems one day drive electric motors that turn airplane propellers? “That’s been talked about. Anything’s possible,” says Charlie Freese, GM’s global executive for Hydrotec, adding, “Over time, I can see how propulsion can become one of the applications” of an aircraft fuel cell. Just not right now, he cautions. Hydrotec is the branded name for General Motors’ hydrogen powertrain and power technology.

The GM-Liebherr Deal

GM is turning to Liebherr-Aerospace to use GM’s core fuel-cell technology and integrate it into a demonstrator system for aircraft manufacturers and government aviation regulators.


Liebherr-Aerospace already builds aircraft landing gear systems, flight controls and actuators, electronics and thermal management systems. Parent company Liebherr of Switzerland and Germany is known for giant mining trucks and a crane with a lifting height of 775 feet.

GM will supply hydrogen fuel cell stacks based on GM’s Hydrotec technology. A fuel cell combines hydrogen and air (oxygen). The reaction gives off water, heat and electrons (electricity). Liebherr will build demonstrator units at its Toulouse, France, facility. According to a joint release, “The demonstrator will incorporate GM’s precisely crafted fuel cells, Hydrotec power cube and fuel cell system, along with the GM’s controls and models.”

Honeywell HGT400 APU
The auxiliary power unit, or APU, usually sits at the rear of the plane. Connected to a generator, it can provide electricity when the main engines are off. In an in-flight emergency, it provides electrical and pressurized air power to control the flight surfaces and pressurize the cabin. An APU can’t propel the plane forward in flight or on the ground: It’s not very powerful and it’s not optimized to provide thrust. Honeywell
Why Replace APUs That Already Work?
Turbine auxiliary power units for aircraft have been used since the 1960s. Apart from aircraft, combustion-engine APUs are used to cool refrigerated trucks and start some diesel engines on big construction equipment. On a jet aircraft, the APU on the ground runs instead of the less-efficient under-wing engines. The APU is connected to a separate generator to provide electrical power.

Concerns about the APU are that it burns hydrocarbon fuel, adding to pollution. Also, says GM’s Freese, “If the plane loses engine power, and one of the ways you lose engine power is a bad load of JP-8 [jet fuel], the APU may not start” because it uses the same fuel source. There are two additional backups, a ram turbine (RAT), a windmill that pops out of the fuselage and uses the airstream to produce electrical or hydraulic power, and a battery pack that provides power when the plane switches among power sources. But the RAT only gets tested a couple times a year; if a fuel cell APU proves reliable enough, it might make the ram air turbine unnecessary.


The APU is designed to provide power but not thrust, and even if it could, the plane’s jet engines are roughly 100 times more powerful than the APU turbine.

GM and Liebherr see a fuel cell power unit on planes as more efficient and more reliable. Getting one certified and then sold to aircraft makers is a process of many years. “That’s the story for aerospace,” Freese says. “You first have to get the technology ready for airframe flight, evaluate it in the air, then release it as a qualified product. Then you can start extending it to other uses.”

A bonus in shifting to a fuel-cell APU: The water vapor produced by combining hydrogen and oxygen could replace some or all of the 2 tons of water (500 gallons) loaded on larger planes for use in washrooms or humidifying the plane.

Wabtec locomotive
GM is partnering with Wabtec to develop a fuel cell-driven locomotive. Wabtec (stands for Westinghouse Air Brake) Technologies represents mergers among Wabco, MotivePower Industries and GE Transportation. Wabtec
GM’s Big Week for Electrification and Hydrogen

Earlier in the week of June 14, GM said it will spend an additional $35 billion through 2025 developing electrified vehicles, autonomous vehicles, U.S. battery plants, and fuel cells for railroad locomotives and stationary power supplies. GM has worked on fuel cell vehicles going back more than 15 years but it’s not a current priority. Now comes the first step in creating fuel cells for aircraft applications.


Battery technology is more developed than fuel cell technology. But batteries weigh much more than a fuel cell plus a tank of hydrogen. It’s usually compressed hydrogen but possibly liquid hydrogen for more power in the same space. Hydrogen refueling stations are costly to build.

Freese sees hydrogen fuel-cell power being especially useful for ground vehicles that travel the same routes or start and end at the same places: trans-shipment points, rail yards and airports. Fueling stations in those locations could service a high percentage of the area’s fuel-cell commercial vehicles. For example, there are about 30 container ship ports and 5,000 U.S. public airports, compared to more than 150,000 gas stations for cars and trucks that travel the nation’s 4 million miles of paved road. There are just 160,000 miles of railroad track.

A hydrogen-fueled 18-wheeler starting at the Port of Long Beach, Calif., could make it across Interstate Route 80 to the Port of Newark, N.J., with just three or four stops to load up on hydrogen, a bit more frequently than a diesel 18-wheeler carrying 100 to 300 gallons of diesel fuel. Refueling takes about as long as pumping an equivalent amount of gas or diesel. A battery-powered 18-wheeler would need 10,000 to 15,000 pounds of battery, by some calculations, to travel 300 to 500 miles. That cuts into the maximum weight allowed for an 18-wheeler: 80,000 pounds for truck, trailer, powerplant, energy supply and cargo. (300 gallons of diesel fuel, good for as much as 2,000 miles, weighs 2,100 pounds.)

Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell 2007
GM has worked on fuel-cell vehicles in the past. It doesn’t have the same priority now as battery-electric vehicles, in part because there only about 50 vehicle refueling stations in the U.S., mostly in California. Here, a Chevrolet Equinox fuel cell electric vehicle at a 2007 media event. Bill Howard
But Will It Fly?
There are companies working on short-haul air taxis powered by battery packs, some of the aircraft proposed as autonomous to keep down costs. Thus the question of whether a future step for commercial airlines, all of which say they want to be green, would be fuel-cell propulsion.


Freese cautions again that planes with fuel-cell APUs won’t take to the skies anytime soon. Looking forward, he says, “A fuel cell [as propulsion] is not the immediate solution that is going to take you from New York to London. That’s a different set of challenges. There may be some regional [shorter distance] applications.”


Bill Howard
Forbes Staff
I have been past president of the International Motor Press Association, past chair of the Cornell Magazine Alumni Committee, and former president of the Cornell Alumni Association. My writings, investigative reporting and columns have been honored by the Computer Press Association, the International Automotive Media Competition and the Associated Press.