Nissan Begins Testing the X-TRAIL FCV in Canada

14 February 2006

X-TRAIL FCV (2005)

Nissan Canada (NCI) will begin testing a new X-TRAIL FCV (fuel-cell vehicle) in and around the Greater Vancouver area.

The 70 MPa (10,000 psi) high-pressure hydrogen-powered Nissan X-TRAIL FCV is the company’s most-recent developmental fuel-cell vehicle. Equipped with the first-ever Nissan-constructed fuel cell stack, the X-TRAIL FCV also boasts a more compact design and increased power.

The Nissan fuel-cell stack (earlier post) is about 60% smaller compared with the previous stack from UTC on the 2003 FCV model but increases power generation to 90 kW, an improvement of 43% over the older stack’s 63 kW.

The prior 2003 FCV offered a cruising range of 350 km (218 miles). With the improved stack efficiency and a 30% increase in storage capacity, the new X-TRAIL FCV is expected to achieve a cruising range of more than 500 km (311 miles)—a 43% increase.

The FCV uses a lithium-ion battery pack for energy storage.

The Nissan X-TRAIL FCV uses high-pressure hydrogen storage tanks from Dynetek Industries (Calgary). The vehicle is being tested at Surrey, B.C.-based Powertech Labs Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of BC Hydro, in conjunction with Fuel Cells Canada.

Fuel Cells Canada manages the Hydrogen Highway, a coordinated, large-scale demonstration and deployment program intended to accelerate the commercialization of hydrogen and fuel-cell technologies. Nissan joined these organizations today in Surrey to kick off the testing.

Nissan will test the vehicle in a number of environments and drive cycles, including moderate cold-weather, high-speed hill climbs and highway driving, to evaluate the vehicle’s capabilities and the hydrogen fuel system’s performance.

Nissan has been working on FCV development since 1996. In addition to design and engineering work conducted in Japan, extensive testing and development has also been conducted in other markets, including the United States, where Nissan is a member of the California Fuel Cell Partnership (CaFCP).