RT Journal Article
T1 Hydrogen-powered refrigeration system for environmentally friendly transport and delivery in the food supply chain
A1 Segura Manzano, Francisca
A1 Vivas Fernández, Francisco José
A1 Andújar Márquez, José Manuel
A1 Martínez Bohórquez, Miguel Ángel
AB Urban population and the trend towards online commerce leads to an increase in delivery solution in cities. Thegrowth of the transport sector is very harmful to the environment, being responsible for approximately 40% ofgreenhouse gas emissions in the European Union. The problem is aggravated when transporting perishablefoodstuffs, as the vehicle propulsion engine (VPE) must power not only the vehicle but also the refrigeration unit.This means that the VPE must be running continuously, both on the road and stationary (during delivery), as thecold chain must be preserved. The result is costly (high fuel consumption) and harmful to the environment. Atpresent, refrigerated transport does not support full-electric solutions, due to the high energy consumptionrequired, which motivates the work presented in this article. It presents a turnkey solution of a hydrogenpoweredrefrigeration system (HPRS) to be integrated into standard light trucks and vans for short-distancefood transport and delivery. The proposed solution combines an air-cooled polymer electrolyte membrane fuelcell (PEMFC), a lithium-ion battery and low-weight pressurised hydrogen cylinders to minimise cost and increaseautonomy and energy density. In addition, for its implementation and integration, all the acquisition, power andcontrol electronics necessary for its correct management have been developed. Similarly, an energy managementsystem (EMS) has been developed to ensure continuity and safety in the operation of the electrical system duringthe working day, while maximizing both the available output power and lifetime of the PEMFC. Experimentalresults on a real refrigerated light truck provide more than 4 h of autonomy in intensive intercity driving profiles,which can be increased, if necessary, by simply increasing the pressure of the stored hydrogen from the current200 bar to whatever is required. The correct operation of the entire HPRS has been experimentally validated interms of functionality, autonomy and safety; with fuel savings of more than 10% and more than 3650 kg of CO2/year avoided.
PB Elsevier
SN 0306-2619
SN 1872-9118 (electrónico)
YR 2023
FD 2023-03
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10272/22152
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10272/22152
LA eng
NO Segura, F., Vivas, F. J., Andújar, J. M., & Martínez, M. (2023). Hydrogen-powered refrigeration system for environmentally friendly transport and delivery in the food supply chain. In Applied Energy (Vol. 338, p. 120945). Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.120945
NO This work is a contribution of the two following Projects: “H2Integration& Control. Integration and Control of a hydrogen-based pilot plant in residential applications for energy supply”, Ref. PID2020-116616RB-C31 supported by the Spanish State Program of R + D + I Oriented to the Challenges of Society; and “SALTES: Smartgrid with reconfigurable Architecture for testing controL Techniques and Energy Storage priority contaminant waste”, Ref. P20-00730 supported byAndalusian Regional Program of R + D + I. Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Huelva/CBUA.
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 31 may 2026