Chrysler Group's Town & Country Natrium - Fuel Cell Minivan Runs on Unique, Zero Emission Fuel

The Chrysler Group has produced its third generation fuel cell concept vehicle, the Chrysler Town & Country Natrium, a minivan running on sodium boro-hydride, a compound chemically related to borax.

This unique fuel and fuel cell system gives Chrysler's Natrium a range of 300 miles, comparable to a gasoline-powered vehicle and significantly longer than any fuel cell vehicle shown to date. In addition, the vehicle has zero emissions – no greenhouse gas or smog-forming compounds are produced by the vehicle.

Sodium borohydride, a naturally-occurring substance used in laundry soap, is available in significant supplies in the United States and other countries. The fuel is non-toxic and nonflammable, and can be recycled, potentially providing an endless supply of fuel for transportation needs.

"This unique concept vehicle represents DaimlerChrysler innovation at its best," said Bernard I. Robertson, Senior Vice President, Engineering Technologies and Regulatory Affairs. "It combines our industry-leading fuel cell vehicle development program and the creative thinking that we have come to expect from our Liberty & Technical Affairs group.

"It also continues our close working relationships with key technical partners, both inside the company and around the world, to bring exciting new technologies to market," Robertson said.

Natrium is the Latin word for sodium. Sodium borohydride is safe, it is available in large supplies in the U.S., and infrastructure issues are less challenging than with other fuels proposed for fuel cell vehicles.

"The most important unresolved issue with fuel cell vehicles is not the fuel cell – it's the fuel," said Thomas Moore, Vice President and head of DaimlerChrysler's Liberty & Technical Affairs research and development group.

"While sodium borohydride will strike some as an unusual fuel for an automobile, it has the advantages of the other fuels that have been proposed for fuel cell vehicles, without the significant disadvantages," Moore said.

"Plus its environmental benefits are even greater – there are no hydrocarbons to contribute to greenhouse gas buildup, no smog-producing emissions, and the fuel can be recycled."

In the Chrysler Town & Country Natrium's fuel cell system, sodium borohydride is processed to extract hydrogen, which is combined with oxygen in the fuel cell stacks to produce electricity that drives the vehicle's electric motor. The Chrysler Natrium's fuel cell system is produced by DaimlerChrysler's fuel cell partner, Ballard/XCELLSiS of Vancouver, Canada. The hydrogen is produced using the "Hydrogen on Demand"^TM system developed by Millennium Cell, Inc., of Eatontown, New Jersey.

The chemical equation for the fuel processing is:

NaBH4 + 2 H24 H2 + NaBO2
sodium borohydride water catalyst hydrogen, sodium borate
(recyclable)

After processing, the spent fuel is sodium borate which is chemically identical to borax. The spent fuel can be reprocessed into sodium borohydride and reused in a fuel cell vehicle.

"In addition to its extended range, the Town & Country Natrium's fuel cell system preserves the full utility of the Chrysler minivan," noted Moore.

"The sodium borohydride fuel storage and processing system are completely packaged under the vehicle's floor. There is no cabin intrusion at all, so the vehicle is fully usable," Moore said.

The Chrysler Group has produced two other fuel cell concept vehicles:

• Jeep® Commander, unveiled in 1999, demonstrated an onboard reformer to produce hydrogen from gasoline for the fuel cell stacks.
• Jeep Commander 2, unveiled in 2000, uses a methanol reforming fuel cell powertrain in a large, luxury, four-wheel-drive sport utility vehicle.