Volkswagen World Premiere Golf SportWagen HyMotion Research vehicle with hydrogen fuel cell Los Angeles Auto Show November 2014 Note: You will find this press release as well as images and movies related to Volkswagen News at the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show online at: www.volkswagen-media-services.com. User ID: lanews14; password: golfsportwagen. TSI and DSG are registered trademarks of Volkswagen AG or other companies of the Volkswagen Group in Germany and in other countries. All cited fuel economy and driving performance figures are estimated values as of November 2014. Hydrogen fuel cell / Los Angeles Auto Show / VOLKSWAGEN 1
Contents Golf SportWagen HyMotion with hydrogen fuel cell Key aspects Short version Page 03 Drive components Page 04 Functional principle of the fuel cell Page 07 Technology Center for Electric Traction Page 08 Hydrogen fuel cell / Los Angeles Auto Show / VOLKSWAGEN 2
Key aspects Research vehicle with hydrogen fuel cell: World premiere of the Golf SportWagen HyMotion in Los Angeles Golf SportWagen HyMotion transfers fuel cell technology to high-volume production Golf is the world's first car to offer all drive types that can be implemented today Ten key facts about the Golf Wagon HyMotion: 1. The Golf SportWagen HyMotion is the first fuel-cell vehicle to be based on the modular transverse matrix. 2. MQB was designed for implementation of all available types of drives; the current Golf is the world's first car to accomplish this. 3. The fuel cell of the Golf SportWagen HyMotion is a development of the Volkswagen Group. 4. The by-products in "cold combustion" of hydrogen and oxygen are nothing other than pure water vapor. 5. The range of the Golf SportWagen HyMotion between fuel stops is 310 miles of zero-emission driving (500 km). 6. The high-tech carbon-fiber tanks in the vehicle floor can be refilled in three minutes. 7. Golf SportWagen HyMotion unites sustainability and dynamism; the car accelerates to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 10.0 seconds. 8. System power of fuel cell and battery is 100 kw. 9. The research vehicle exploits synergistic effects of production cars by using the electric motor from the e-golf. 10. Drive components such as the electric motor and transmission are purely in-house developments by Volkswagen AG Hydrogen fuel cell / Los Angeles Auto Show / VOLKSWAGEN 3
Wolfsburg / Los Angeles, November 2014. At the Los Angeles Auto Show (November 18 to 30), Volkswagen is presenting the world premiere of the Golf SportWagen HyMotion a progressive research vehicle with a fuel cell drive. As the power source of the future, hydrogen and oxygen are combined in the fuel cell to form pure water. Energy is released in this "cold combustion" process drive energy for an electric motor that turns with zero emissions. The front wheel drive Golf SportWagen HyMotion accelerates to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 10.0 seconds. The hydrogen is stored safely in four high-tech carbon-fiber tanks, which are located in a spacesaving way in the underbody. Their fuel capacity enables a driving range of 310 miles (500 km). Refilling of the fuel tank of the concept car takes just three minutes. Unlike many of its competitors, Volkswagen is following the strategy of implementing its alternative drives in high-volume production vehicles. That is, precisely as the all-electric e-golf and the Golf GTE that is equipped with a plug-in hybrid drive, future fuel cell drives would also be integrated into a production model that has everyday practicality, has been optimally engineered and is offered at an attractive price. It was with this objective in mind that several research vehicles were built based on the American Passat, in which the same drive components are used as in the Golf SportWagen HyMotion. The fleet of Passat HyMotion vehicles is currently being tested on the streets of California. Drive components System alliance. The key drive components of the Golf SportWagen HyMotion were developed by Volkswagen Group Research in Germany. The fuel cell system, which has a driving power of 100 kw, was conceptualized at the Volkswagen Technology Center for Electric Traction. In addition, the concept car has a high-voltage lithium-ion battery, which stores the kinetic energy recovered from regenerative braking, assists in the starting phase of the fuel cell and adds a dynamic boost to the maximum acceleration of the Golf Hydrogen fuel cell / Los Angeles Auto Show / VOLKSWAGEN 4
SportWagen. The fuel cell and battery drive an electric motor adapted from the e-golf. One car, all drive types. The mechanical design for this innovative car build is based on the modular transverse matrix (MQB) which was developed by Volkswagen and is used throughout the Group. Thanks to use of the MQB, the current Golf hatchback versions and the new Golf SportWagen have advanced to become the world's first vehicle model series that can host all conceivable drive types. Today, the Golf is already offered with gasoline engines (TSI), diesel engines (TDI), a natural gas drive (TGI), an electric drive (e- Golf) and a plug-in hybrid drive (Golf GTE). No other car offers such a variety of drive types. Volkswagen is showing the Golf SportWagen HyMotion to demonstrate for the first time how a hydrogen fuel cell could be implemented based on the MQB as soon as research and development work has been completed and a solution could be developed whose price would be acceptable to new car buyers. Before the market launch, a hydrogen infrastructure must first be created. This means not only a broad network of hydrogen fuel stations, but also the production of the hydrogen itself. Because hydrogen only makes sense as a source of drive energy if the primary energy used to produce it comes from renewable energy sources. Perfect package. Volkswagen has integrated the drive components of the Golf SportWagen HyMotion in the front of the car. The battery is housed above the rear axle, and the tanks are mounted in the vehicle floor. Thus, the interior of the Golf SportWagen HyMotion offers the same amount of space as in all other versions of the model. This optimal space utilization was enabled because early on in the specification for the MQB-based development of the model series provisions were included for all technically feasible drive and body versions. System components in the front body. In the Golf SportWagen HyMotion, the modules of high-volume production vehicles were merged with engineered components that were entirely new. As noted, the electric motor was adapted from the new e-golf, and the Hydrogen fuel cell / Los Angeles Auto Show / VOLKSWAGEN 5
motor and coaxial two-stage 1-speed transmission are located at the front of the engine compartment; both components were developed by Volkswagen. Also arranged in the engine compartment are the hydrogen fuel cell stack, the cooling system, a tri-port converter which regulates the voltage between the electric motor, fuel cell and lithium-ion battery, and the turbocompressor. The latter ensures that oxygen from the ambient air flows into the fuel cell (for functional principle of the fuel cell see page 6). The power electronics is located in the area of the center tunnel; it converts the direct current (DC) into three-phase alternating current (AC) which is used to drive the motor. The power electronics also integrates a DC/DC converter, which converts energy from the high-voltage battery to a voltage level of 12 V to supply the 12-V electrical system. System components in the middle and rear body. The high-voltage lithium ion battery is mounted in the vicinity of the rear axle. Also mounted at the rear is a 12-V battery. Two of the total of four carbon-fiber composite tanks are housed under the rear bench seat and the other two in the luggage compartment floor in a space-saving way. The hydrogen is stored in the tanks at a pressure of 700 bar. As in all other Volkswagen vehicles, the tank filler neck is located on the right side at the rear. Battery as second power plant. The lithium-ion battery is the second power plant in the vehicle, and it plays an important role in the drive system. As mentioned, it stores the energy recovered during regenerative braking. It is also important during all phases in which the turbocompressor is just starting up, such as in a drive-off situation. At this point in time, the fuel cell has not built up enough electrical power to drive the motor by itself. In these phases, the lithium-ion battery jumps into action and supplies energy to the electric motor. The high-voltage battery also operates like a turbocharger during fast acceleration and while accelerating to top speed. In what is referred to as boosting, the fuel cell and battery work in an alliance to supply a system power of 100 kw. Hydrogen fuel cell / Los Angeles Auto Show / VOLKSWAGEN 6
Functional principle of the fuel cell Layout and functional overview. Volkswagen Group Research is utilizing the company's fourth-generation fuel cell in the Golf SportWagen HyMotion and simultaneously in a research vehicle based on the US-version Passat. Group brand Audi is also presenting the same fuel cell at the Los Angeles Auto Show in an A7 model. All three fuel cells are based on the LT PEM fuel cell stack developed in Germany. LT stands for the type of fuel cell: Low Temperature. PEM stands for Proton Exchange Membrane. The key element of each individual fuel cell many of which are combined to form a stack is the proton-conducting membrane (PEM). Each membrane is located between an anode and a cathode in the fuel cell. Hydrogen flows into the cell at the anode end, and oxygen at the cathode end. The hydrogen and oxygen react and combine to form water at the cathode end. Energy is released in this process. Process details between anode and cathode. At the anode, the hydrogen is split into electrons and protons. The positively charged protons "migrate" through the membrane to the cathode. The negatively charged electrons flow to the cathode via the external electrical circuit. This flow of electrical current supplies electrical energy. At the cathode, the protons react with the inflowing oxygen and the electrons to produce "process water", most of which escapes via the exhaust system. Around sixty percent of the energy input in the form of hydrogen is converted to electricity. The fuel cell converts the chemical energy of an oxidation process directly into electrical energy; this oxidation process is also known as "cold combustion". The "exhaust gas" is nothing other than clean water vapor. Technology Center for Electric Traction Bundling resources. Since the 1990s, Volkswagen has been researching the potential of hydrogen fuel cells and transferring this drive technology to production cars. At the beginning of the past decade Volkswagen decided to build a dedicated Technology Center for Electric Traction near its headquarters in Wolfsburg, to further Hydrogen fuel cell / Los Angeles Auto Show / VOLKSWAGEN 7
advance its capabilities in fuel cell development. The Isenbüttel site was chosen for this center. Construction of a special development center for electric drives was started there in 2001. Hydrogen fuel cell / Los Angeles Auto Show / VOLKSWAGEN 8