Fuel cell systems (FCSs) for transportation applications are a longstanding area of fuel cell (FC) product development. Numerous prototype vehicles exist for a variety of transportation applications1 and research continues into improving the competitiveness of FCs as compared to the internal combustion engine (ICE). Research indicates that switching from standard ICE vehicles to hydrogen-fueled fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution emissions, and ambient air pollution, particularly if the hydrogen fuel is derived from either wind-powered electrolysis or steam reforming of natural gas (but not coal gasification). To better assess the potential usefulness and market-worthiness of fuel cells for transportation applications, this work describes a "Design for Manufacturing and Assembly" (DFMA)"-style analysis of the cost to manufacture two different transportation FCSs. The systems analyzed are an 80 kilowatt-electric (kW_e) FCS for automobile applications and a 150 kW_e FCS for bus applications. The impact of annual production rate on the cost of both systems is examined to assess the difference between a nascent and a mature product manufacturing base.
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