Fuel Saving Technology – Hero or Zero?

Companies that have developed aftermarket vehicle fuel saving devices or offer new fuel saving technologies appear to be thriving. So whose got it right, whom should we believe, are they all scams and what should we do, if anything, to save fuel and resultant CO2? Airmax has looked at three hydrogen technologies and in this paper reports on this alternative fuel and its effect on its core business of CANbus based vehicle diagnostics and telematics.

Steve Perham: Group MD - Airmax Group Feb. 2010

Leaving the ‘noughties’ behind and entering the ‘teenies’ and with Northern Europe just recovering from the grip of the ‘big freeze’; the coldest and snowiest winter for 50 years; we seem to have forgotten, collectively as motorists, in this volatile environment that petrol is nudging £1.15 a litre and even more for diesel.

Today there are over 800 million vehicles in the world, with the number expected to reach two billion by 2050*. The transportation sector accounts for 19% of global CO2 emissions and is the fastest growing contributor to man-made atmospheric CO2. In addition the sector is responsible for much of the poor air quality now experienced in many of the world's population centres.

The UK Challenge

In the last decade, vehicles in Britain have increased by 6 million – now over 33 million

The UK transport system supports a staggering 61 Billion journeys per year

The Eddington Transport Study (Dec 2006) predicts that despite over £140 billion of planned investment over the next 10 years, congestion could get 25% worse by 2015

The cost of that congestion - currently £20 billion per annum - will more than double over next 20 years

A 5% reduction in travel time for all businesses and freight travel on the roads could generate around £2.5 Billion of cost savings - 0.2% GDP

By 2025 13% of traffic will be subject to stop-start travel conditions

There is a clear and uncontroversial need for a cleaner, practical alternative to the ‘fossil fuelled’ internal combustion engine to power our vehicles, and this, according the vast majority of the worlds major automakers, will be the Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell. PEM Fuel Cells in a hybrid electric configuration are viewed as a highly efficient powertrain offering practical driving ranges, with much reduced overall emissions and producing no harmful emissions whatsoever at the tail-pipe. It is expensive to make, subject to massive logistical constraints and

not at the stage where everyone can afford it so the question is surely, with the number of vehicles in the world, what is the risk in waiting for the roll-out of PEM Fuelled Cells and will it be too little too late?

The passenger vehicle is a very important application for Fuel Cells and Hydrogen, due to its ubiquity, which creates both a need and a route to economies of scale. Encouraging progress is evident in terms of technical performance of fuel cells (and also hydrogen Internal Combustion Engines – I.C.E.s) in the latest field-trial vehicles, and also in terms of the level of commitment displayed by a number of manufacturers. Battery-electric technologies are both a key competitor here and a complementary technology, as seen in recent prototypes with dual fuel (Hydrogen/Electricity) capability. The precise nature of the products that finally become fully and profitably commercialised will depend on the outcome of one of the defining technological battles of the twenty-first century - the battle between the storage of Electricity and the storage of Hydrogen. In the meantime, we will see the advent of concept, niche or image vehicles that may not be profitable but are still commercially relevant.

The captive fleets sector (buses, taxis, delivery vehicles) is known to be a promising early market for Fuel Cells and Hydrogen, because of lower infrastructure dependency and the beneficial effect of company politics will have on purchase decisions. Perhaps importantly, these early fleets might provide seeds for the growth of a more extensive Hydrogen infrastructure, linking city centres to highway refuelling. Technical hurdles are similar to the passenger car, although the larger daily operating range of captive fleet vehicles places Hydrogen at a clear advantage over Electricity as a fuel in many cases. The success of the next generation of Fuel Cell and Hydrogen captive-fleet demonstration vehicle will be critical to the success of Hydrogen in Transport.

There is evidence of significant recent progress in key issues such as the cost, durability and ambient operating envelope of the Fuel Cell, in both stationary and transport applications. This progress is encouraging, but there remains a need for a focused research effort, particularly in ensuring that this progress is consolidated into volume-manufactured products that are affordable and robust. Also the driving public just do not think about alternative fuels when it comes to buying decisions. This decision is last on the list of influencing factors. See table to the right.

There are as yet very few Fuel Cell products sold on a profitable basis, but this situation is changing very fast, with forward orders for tens of thousands of units now in the domestic heat-power and telecoms power supply markets, and for hundreds of units in goods handling vehicles. These markets, together with auxiliary power and small two-wheeled vehicles, could become profitable along their value-chains in the next decade.

Road transport is the most technically challenging application, but the latest generation vehicles are realising the efficiencies that the Fuel Cell has always promised. Sustained research effort on cost reduction, durability and on-board Hydrogen Storage remains vital to realise the great economic and environmental potential in this sector. What is Hydrogen?

Hydrogen is a chemical element – it is colourless, odourless and a gas at room temperature. It reacts with oxygen, generating both water and energy. Hydrogen can be used as a fuel in combustion engines or to generate electricity in novel fuel cells. In many ways it can be thought of as similar to natural gas, with two important differences; Hydrogen cannot simply be mined like methane; and when hydrogen is burned (reacted with oxygen) it does not produce carbon dioxide.

Importance

Most Medium Least

Vehicle price Performance Depreciation

Size Power Sales package

Reliability Image Experience

Comfort Brand name Dealership

Running costs Insurance costs

Recommendation

Fuel consumption

Engine size Road tax

Appearance Equipment Environment

Vehicle emissions

Alternative fuel

Interest in Hydrogen is driven by a number of factors.

Hydrogen is able to offer:

1. reduction of CO2 emissions, helping to mitigate climate change

2. reduction of energy imports, home grown fuels - reduction on foreign supplies

3. diversification of energy supplies, reducing dependence on fuels such as oil

4. improved local air quality

5. reduced noise – Fuel Cell vehicles generate significantly less noise than the incumbent ICE based vehicles.

6. assistance in the introduction of new Fuel Cell technologies which offer high efficiencies

7. exemption from many carbon taxes

8. exemption from both congestion charges and low pollution zones

9. post Copenhagen commitments – both legislatively and voluntarily driven

10. company statement of greening the boardroom

11. being part of a growing carbon economy

12. status and first mover advantages

These attributes arise because hydrogen has the potential to be produced from energy sources which are carbon-free, local and renewable. Hydrogen can provide a range of energy services, from electricity to transport, while emitting only water. Given these characteristics, hydrogen fuel, together with Fuel Cell energy converters may offer a unique opportunity to create a clean and efficient energy system based on sustainable primary energy sources. The investment required to develop these new energy systems means that there is the additional prospect of developing new industries.

How is hydrogen used as a fuel?

Like any combustible fuel, hydrogen can be burned in air, producing heat. This could be used to heat a house or cook food. However, hydrogen is more often envisaged as being used in one of the following:

Fuel Cell

Fuel cells are devices which use a chemical reaction to generate electricity rather like batteries. They differ from batteries in that the reactants (the chemicals which combine to produce electricity) are stored outside the device. Hydrogen can combine with oxygen in a Fuel Cell to produce electricity, heat and water. Fuel Cells are able to operate with much higher efficiencies than combustion-based engines.

Internal Combustion Engine (I.C.E.).

Hydrogen can be burned in an internal combustion engine (very similar to petrol or petrol or diesel-fired engines) to produce mechanical energy without producing CO2 at the point of use.

Hydrogen I.C.E.

Ford is currently looking at creating a car that will bridge the gap between petrol power and the very likely future fuel, hydrogen.

The I.C.E. burns hydrogen in a slightly modified Ford engine thus incorporating the "fuel of the future" in the car of today. The idea is to market a car that will use hydrogen without the use of Fuel Cells and the associated expensive technology to power it.

Since the car is based largely on current technology (even the engine is stock with slight modifications) Ford's intermediate line will be more affordable, rapidly available, and produce nearly zero emissions. It will also sit nicely in the maintenance and service centre environment being based on known technology.

Ford has stated that should the fuel be more widely available they could have the cars powered by hydrogen... immediately. Naturally, because hydrogen burns hotter than petrol certain engine modifications are necessary. However, the engine block itself is basically the same as a petrol powered engine. Hydrogen modifications internally are limited to the pistons; all other modifications are "external" to the engine. See list below.

Most major automotive manufacturers have some kind of activity in this field.

Daimler, Ford, General Motors, Volkswagen, FIAT, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Hyundai have all shown one or more (in some cases much more) prototypes using Fuel Cell Hybrid (FC-HEV) technology. In some cases the Fuel Cell stack technology has been sourced from a supplier (most notably Ballard); in other cases it is developed in-house. In all cases the Hydrogen fuel is stored as a compressed gas.

PSA (Peugeot-Citroen) have recently shown a vehicle of the Range Extender type, with stack technology from Intelligent Energy; having shown more conventional hybrid Fuel Cell concepts in the past.

BMW have focused uniquely on the Internal Combustion Engine and on liquid fuel storage, and have a product on sale in very low volumes; Ford have also developed prototypes with a Hydrogen I.C.E., including an electrically hybrid version. Engine Modifications

The following engine modifications are necessary to run hydrogen instead of petrol and apparently not diesel:

1. Valves and valve seats must be especially hardened to compensate for reduced lubricating properties. Petrol, though a fuel, does have some oil like properties that typically keep these engine components properly lubricated ...hydrogen does not

2. Spark plugs must use iridium to withstand the higher temperatures

3. Ignition coils must be different due to the properties of hydrogen as fuel

4. Fuel injectors must be designed for a gas not a liquid

5. A heftier crankshaft damper compensates for the bigger kick hydrogen fuel provides

6. Pistons, connecting rods and piston rings must be able to withstand the higher forces and pressures produced

7. Head gasket must be able to withstand the higher combustion pressures

8. Intake manifold modified to accommodate a supercharger

9. Twin screw supercharger and water-to-air inter-cooler to increase power

10. Engine oil must be able to withstand higher temperatures and pressures

11. Engine oil system must include a separator to remove any hydrogen that might migrate into the oil

12. Exhaust gas system must be able sustain water produced by the hydrogen combustion

13. Dual fuel ECU

As you can see most of the modifications are "bolt-on" not radical redesigns of the engine itself. However, these modifications would add 50% of current engine manufacturing costs. Oh and I forget to add the Hydrogen storage tank.

What Remains the Same on the Engine?

1. The block is unchanged

2. The crankshaft itself and the bearings it rides on are the same

This may not seem like much compared to what has been changed, but the most expensive change was to the intake manifold and the addition of a supercharger.

Quantum Technologies, a leader in this field, in the USA has moved on to bulk hydrogen distribution and refuelling and away from in- vehicle hydrogen storage.

A statement of reality perhaps in that it’s all about the logistics of supply of the fuel itself perhaps.

http://www.qtww.com/

Whilst in the UK ITM has entered the market with its version of low cost I.C.E. vehicles. http://www.itm-power.com/

Fuel Cell Vehicle (FCV) - How they work

PEM fuel cells are the centre of an integrated propulsion system-one that is radically different from conventional vehicle systems. The diagram below shows the basic components of a hydrogen-fuelled FCV.

Fuel Cell vehicles like the one above use pure hydrogen as fuel, stored onboard the vehicle in highly pressurised tanks. Other FCVs are designed to use a liquid fuel such as petrol or methanol, which is stored in a conventional, non-pressurised tank.

FCVs using these fuels also need a reformer-a fuel processor that breaks down the fuel into hydrogen for the fuel cell, carbon dioxide, and water. Although this process generates carbon dioxide, it produces much less than the amount generated by petrol-powered vehicles.

Fuel Cell vehicles can also be equipped with regenerative braking systems that capture the

energy usually lost during braking and store it in an up-sized battery.

Possible pathway to a hydrogen economy

There are barriers to the market for Fuel Cell technology. Closing the deployment gap will require accelerating the convergence of three key pathways, each of which involves time lags:

engineering development and maturation of stacks and ancillaries;

cost reduction for common components of powertrain and onboard hydrogen storage; and

resolution of the technical and infrastructure barriers related to the right fuel for fuel cell vehicles.

Consumer uptake

The common theme to the barriers described above is the ‘chicken-and-egg’ dilemma. Ordinary consumers, who comprise the largest section of the market, won’t buy, for example, hydrogen cars until they are cost and performance-competitive with conventional cars, and there is sufficient refilling infrastructure. But this won’t happen until there are enough cars being produced and on the roads. The solution generally envisaged is for H2&FC technologies to gradually enter the market in ‘niche’ areas, where high costs and lack of infrastructure are less of a barrier than they are in the conventional market. Pioneering consumers and users will take the risk – and be rewarded by status and first mover advantages. Their purchases will facilitate continued investment and development in Fuel Cell and hydrogen technology. In turn, this will improve performance and reduce costs, making the technology attractive to a larger number of consumers. This virtuous circle can ultimately lead to mass-market applications.

Drivers and Barriers

The key drivers for Fuel Cell and Hydrogen technologies are the pairing of greenhouse gas reduction and fossil fuel resource depletion. However from a fleet perspective it’s all about fuel costs and cost savings. As an added bonus the Fuel Cell offers effectively zero emissions at the point of use, though this is less of an advantage than it used to be, due to progress in cleansing the emissions of conventional internal combustion engines. For example, the Californian SULEV emission standard (which is one level removed from the zero emission standard) can be met by many production Petrol-engined vehicles, and laboratory research indicates that solutions are on the way for the Diesel.

Political pressure to address the carbon/fossil dependency issue is growing, with 2008/9 seeing significant regulatory developments in both Europe and the USA:

In the EU, legislation passed through Parliament in 2008 mandated an average CO2 emission (at the tailpipe) of 130g/km for new cars, compared to 164g/km in 2007. This average can be met with much simpler technologies than Fuel Cells and Hydrogen (in fact, even Hybrids are only likely to be needed in small quantities), but the legislation could be a starting-point for further measures beyond 2020 which create pressure to commercialise more efficient alternatives.

In the USA, a new standard for Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) will require a fleet average of 35mpg (USA) by 2020. Given the high proportion of SUVs and light trucks sold as passenger vehicles in the USA, this level of legislation may require more radical change, albeit over a longer timescale.

As a result, legislative drivers post 2020 could create a market environment where a Fuel Cell or Hydrogen vehicle could succeed commercially, if the state of the art has advanced sufficiently by then to address remaining known issues. A key issue is the bulk and cost of the Hydrogen tank.

Unlike the Fuel Cell itself, there is little available information on reducing the cost of Hydrogen storage, in terms of current achievements or future projections. A recent press feature on GM’s activities cited a cost of around €10,000 per tank for production of 5000 vehicles. The 700 bar tank is a complex component, involving an impermeable liner, a carbon fibre shell that is robot-wound in a process that takes days, and typically 200 embedded sensors to monitor for the onset of failures. A tank giving 300km range in a car is a bulky component whose shape cannot be adapted to fit available package

spaces. Until significant developments occur, it is possible that the tank, more than the fuel cell itself, may define what types of transport application can be successful.

As a product, the Fuel Cell car will be competing not with conventional vehicles as we know them today, but with a new generation of technologies being developed to meet the legislative challenges from 2015 to 2020.

Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV)

HEVs combine an Internal Combustion engine (conventionally fuelled) with one or more electric motors and a battery, to re-cycle energy that is otherwise wasted under braking. On a well to wheel basis, a best-in-class HEV (which would feature a Diesel engine) will emit slightly less CO2 per km than the best prototype fuel cell vehicle has demonstrated to date (based on today’s Natural Gas energy chain); of course de-carbonising of the Hydrogen energy chain will reverse this situation.

Biofuels

Although the limitations of “first generation” Biofuels have received much bad publicity in the last few years, it is likely that a second generation (using crop waste, not food material) will be in use by 2020, which could close any competitive CO2 advantage that the fuel cell car enjoys as a result of de-carbonised Hydrogen supply. However it is commonly believed that, once the needs of other sectors are considered, bio-content of liquid fuels is unlikely to rise above 30%.

Plug-In Hybrids (PHEV): Derived from the Hybrid vehicle, these have extended battery capacity, which can be topped up by plugging the vehicle into the electric grid. This enables short journeys (up to 20-50 km) to be completed using electric drive only. The total energy-chain efficiency of electric drive can be relatively high (around twice as high as converting the electricity to Hydrogen in an electrolyser, then back again in the Fuel Cell), so this technology creates a strong competitor to the Fuel Cell.

Electrically powered cars are 5 to 6 times more efficient at converting energy to motion. Only 15% of the output of an I.C.E. goes to drive the car, most is lost in heat.

Electric Vehicles (EV)

Pure Electric vehicles continue to suffer from driving range limitations, though both range and re-charge times are improving. EVs are likely to be most attractive as second cars for city use

Introduction to hydrogen vehicles

In order for a transition to hydrogen as a fuel for road transport to take place, significant developments in vehicle technology are needed.

There are three main options for hydrogen vehicles, presenting differing degrees of technical challenge. These options are as follows:

Hythane vehicles and Hydrogen-rich fuels

Hythane is a mixture of hydrogen and natural gas (up to a 20% hydrogen concentration).

Vehicles adapted to run on compressed natural gas (CNG) can run on Hythane, hence the technology required for Hythane vehicles is already relatively mature.

FCVs can also be fuelled with hydrogen-rich fuels, such as methanol, natural gas, petroleum distillates, or even petrol. These fuels must be passed through onboard "reformers" that extract pure hydrogen from the fuel for use in the fuel cell. Reforming does emit some carbon dioxide, but much less than petrol engines do.

Hydrogen internal combustion vehicles (H2ICE)

The petrol or diesel powered internal combustion engine can be adapted to run on hydrogen fuel. This is less technologically challenging than development of fuel cell vehicles and is seen by some as a bridging technology.

HHO - a supplementary Green Fuel

Now, there seems to be a lot of controversy over whether HHO kits are viable, cost effective and safe. Certainly the ready-made units are expensive, as is all green manufactured equipment, and for any benefits they produce, their cost effectiveness is questionable. However, in fact, the claim of extra m.p.g. appears be genuine and the supporting evidence does seem to outweigh negative evidence. Clearly, it is this technology that will advance first with a plethora of back garden inventors and emerging specialists contributing and ultimately emerging as a cost effective way of reducing fossil fuel consumption.

What is clear is that the systems do work well when combined with good engine management ECU control. Encrypted ECUs make it almost impossible for the small developers to have any real influence over the vehicles mapping and sensor settings. Modern vehicles will work against any attempt to alter the oxygen sensors. Thus a breed of ‘fudge’ electronics has entered the market with EFI controls and MAP/MAF units. There’re doing their job but are locked out by the encrypted codes of the ECU manufacturers.

There seems to have been no studies as to whether HHO as a supplementary fuel will have any detrimental effect on the average internal combustion engine, and why would there be, the car and fuel companies certainly wouldn’t benefit from research into manufactured or DIY HHO kits. So that leaves the question wide open. Only a select few have been bold enough to attempt to bridge this information vacuum. Older vehicles, pre 1995, may be more tolerant of any potentially detrimental effects, such as, mixture strength, ignition timing, and so forth. In most cases, those parameters can be adjusted relatively easily. For the modern car, mapping of the ECU must be carried out.

Promoting Unst Renewable Energy (PURE) Project

200 miles north of the Scotland mainland the residents in the Shetland Islands are already experiencing the future realities of energy prices. In Unst, the most northerly island in the United Kingdom, a dedicated team of local visionaries have worked together with global experts to assess the ability of alternative energy systems to deliver not only electricity, but also the fuel of the future – hydrogen.

PURE is a pilot project that will demonstrate how wind power and hydrogen technology can be combined to provide the energy needs for five business units in a remote rural industrial estate. As the first community owned renewable energy system of its kind to achieve funding anywhere in Europe, it represents an important milestone in the development of green energy systems.

It was realised at an early stage that hydrogen technology could provide an energy storage medium and load managing mechanism for the surplus energy produced by the wind turbines in periods of low consumption. The stored hydrogen can then be used as and when required, either for re-conversion to electricity via a Fuel Cell to balance the output from the energy system or used directly as fuel for heating and transportation in much the same way as LPG or gasoline.

Such has been the interest in this unique hydrogen facility that it has put the Shetland Isles onto the world renewable energy map, and has provided the opportunity to commercialise the PURE System, creating jobs, inward migration and new investment in Unst.

The PURE project also incorporates the only licensed hydrogen fuel cell car in Scotland and has enabled the Unst Partnership to establish close links with several academic research institutions including Imperial College London,

Loughborough University, De Montfort University, St Andrews and Robert Gordon Universities.

The Unst Partnership is now building on its success by establishing the PURE Energy Centre Ltd (PEC) to commercialise and further develop their hydrogen-based products.

PEC will develop four key products: the Hy-Pod, which is a containerised hydrogen generation and fuel cell unit; training courses on renewable hydrogen and its use; consultancy work on renewables and hydrogen; and pay as you go R&D facility. Honda’s garage solar hydrogen fueling station

Honda has started operation of a next generation solar hydrogen station prototype. This home fueling system is designed to refuel Fuel Cell electric vehicles.

The single unit fits in a garage and produces enough hydrogen in an 8-hour overnight fill for a daily commute in a fuel cell vehicle.

Honda said it simplified the previous hydrogen station, which required and electrolyser and compressor to create high pressure hydrogen. The latest version ditches the compressor completely. By eliminating the compressor, Honda’s solar hydrogen station is 25% more efficient than the old one.

Among other key details:

Honda’s solar hydrogen station is compatible with smart grids

Users could refill the vehicle without storing hydrogen The station could export power to the grid when not in use The station is powered by a 48-panel 6.0KW solar array

The home system is designed to complement so-called “fast fill” hydrogen stations, which fuel up in 5 minutes

Telematics and HHO

Performance Mode Manager

The Airmax Remote vehicle telematics unit has a new feature and now can be programmed to alter the mode and performance of your vehicle by remote mode management of the vehicle’s ECU. It’s simple and there are nine over-air modes to choose from. It involves the ECU being programmed at installation of the Airmax Remote or Profleet2 diagnostics box by our approved

installation network which will then allow preset and agreed settings to be switched by encrypted commands from the website via GSM.

Combined with driving behaviour reports this new command set enables the fleet manager to change and set his own risk policy per driver based on drive skill sets or driver KPI’s. This empowering software and will have a major impact on fuel costs, CO2 output and driver risk not least accident claims management. Being able to listen to the data from the CANbus is a combined art and science but also now being able to write to it is completely new.

The ECU modes must be agreed in advance and the first 4 are hard coded and mandatory.

4 Mandatory Modes

1) Factory default mode

Returning the ECU to the OEM map settings. Of great value when returning the vehicle to the dealer or back into the pool fleet or de-fleeting, negating the expensive need to attend the vehicle with an engineer on a deinstall. Also useful if drivers are swapped and have pre-agreed driving parameters.

2) Immobilisation or anti theft mode

The additional benefits of a built-in anti-theft programme. The anti-theft modes allow you to totally disable your vehicle's ECU. It will leave the car totally inoperable even if the thief has the keys. Unlike other security devices there are no mechanical installation requirements such as wiring looms.

3) Eco mode

There are a number of ways in which you can help to reduce the amount of CO2 being pumped into our atmosphere and at the same time save yourself time and money through decreased fuel consumption.

ECUs controlling the engine determine all-important aspects of the internal combustion process, including the quantity of fuel, ignition timing and other parameters. In doing so it is trying to optimise the engine’s efficiency under any given set of conditions—hot, cold, heavy load, accelerating etc.

Often, this optimisation is a compromise, where the manufacturer is balancing the needs of the world market they are supplying and not taking account of driving and the road conditions.

By re-profiling the firmware within the ECUs, through a process called “Fuel Optimisation” we can provide a better set of running parameters for the engine for typical UK driving conditions and styles. Historically ECUs were ‘chipped’ or re-mapped for power or performance but these days this includes specific mapping for fuel economy and resultant lowering of CO2.

Having your cars ECU fuel optimised we arrange all the parameters that are set for compromise to optimise. This in turn gives better fuel consumption, more power, lower CO2 levels at specific, optimum and usual driving conditions, reduces and eliminates flat spots giving you a smoother power curve for a better driving experience all of this can be achieved without reaching any of the safe tolerance put on the engine and therefore not affecting its life.

Eco-driving can lead to fuel savings of 5-15%

4) Speed limiting mode

Both top speed and rev’ range limiting.

Optional Modes:

5) Urban mode

This mode optimises for lower average speeds and improvements in CO2

6) Insurance penalty mode

If you are subject to young driver or curfew restrictions this automated feature will help retain insurance penalty points and prevent you from paying excess fees or loosing you insurance all together.

7) Performance mode

For those occasions when speed and performance is permitted and safe

8) Octane specific mode

Very useful when fuel quality is in question or only limited fuel octane’s are available. Newer ECU’s will normal identify and then adjust for fuel types or octane variants but as blended or bio fuel is becoming more prevalent then this option is viable especially if the settings have been perfected on a Dyno machine.

9) Trailer mode

Improves torque and low speed management giving safer driving range in lower gears.

10) Driver Mode

Or user preset modes available

These can include driver ID linked to mode and driver skill set

Blue or yellow light management for police forces or emergency services

11) Dual fuel applications and HHO management

‘Over-air select mode’ features variable boost, timing and fuel adjustment allowing the user to set the vehicle up to run efficiently with any fuel quality and in varying conditions. This often is to do with ‘sweet spot’ settings so users can gain experience from ECU settings on the road that suit the vehicle and then save as a setting to file in the ECU.

The impact of getting this right on fuel economy can be very impressive with gains of 20+% or more with HHO fuel supplement technology for with diesel or petrol powered vehicles.

A Few Statistics on Emissions

With hydrogen as a fuel or a supplementary fuel, emissions are greatly reduced from those of

conventional engines with current emission control technology. There is a small amount of CO2 gas emissions resulting from the engine oil in the cylinders of most modern engines, it would take over 300 hydrogen vehicles to emit the same amount of CO2 as for one petrol fuelled vehicle.

Hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions are 1/10 of current requirements and

nitric oxide (NOx) emissions are 1/4 that of petrol.

[ Find out more call +44 (0) 1932 504 300 or email info@airmaxroup.com ]

Airmax Group is one of Europe’s most successful innovators in the supply of telematics solutions to the commercial and business fleet markets. A recently highly commended runner up for the ‘Green Fleet’ IT Innovation Award, the Company has in excess of 25,000 vehicles fitted with its telematics units providing data across a diverse range of applications such as fleet management, driver performance profiling, vehicle diagnostics and CO2 emissions.

For more information about Airmax Group Ltd visit www.airmaxgroup.com or contact us on info@airmaxgroup.com

References

world business council for sustainable development 2006

The Eddington Transport Study (Dec 2006)

www.roads2hy.com/

www.ballard.com/

www.pure.shetland.co.uk/

www.bbc.co.uk

www.innovits.com/ Compiled by: Steve Perham: Group MD - Airmax Group Feb. 2010 s.perham@airmaxgroup.com - www.airmaxgroup.com

[ Find out more call +44 (0) 1932 504 300 or email info@airmaxroup.com ]