Development of Hydrogen Powered Fuel Cell e-Snowmobiles

In the highly innovative and holistic flagship project HySnow (Decarbonisation of Winter Tourism by Hydrogen Powered Fuel Cell Snowmobiles), funded by the Austrian Climate and Energy Fund, the decarbonization of winter tourism is being demonstrated. Within this project, two prototype e-snowmobiles have been developed including the adaption of a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (PEM-FC) system for the low temperature and high-performance targets and the integration of the drivetrain into the vehicle. In this paper the drivetrain development process of the prototype e-snowmobiles will be presented with the aim to derive specifications for the drivetrain components as PEM-FC system, hydrogen storage system, electric drive, battery and power electronics. Based on typical use cases for snowmobiles overall vehicle specifications and requirements are defined. Associated driving cycles are investigated and used as input for the development process. Subsequently, analyses regarding possible drivetrain topologies based on technical and economical vehicle requirements are carried out. In parallel, vehicle implementation concepts based on standardized development processes are performed. The development and the design process are verified by verification and optimization loops. The results define technical specifications of the PEM-FC, the battery along with the required hydrogen tank; to give an optimum concerning required drivetrain efficiency, and hence driving range as well as vehicle space and weight. It is expected that the hydrogen powered e-snowmobiles with high power, drivability, driving fun, and the lack of noise emission, pollutants, and GHG will convince the users of the concept benefits.