You reach your final destination for the day, switch off the engine of your motorhome, and sit back to enjoy the view. Cicadas chirping and the music of nature are the only sounds you can hear. And then, far away from the nearest mains outlet, you get your laptop out to check your emails and plan your route for the next day. Quietly, and with low emissions, the electrical power you need is produced by your own on-board fuel cell generator. You know that with the fuel cell, your vehicle battery will always be fully charged. Now that the funded research and testing work has been done, fuel cell hybrid systems are ready for the market.

A fuel cell system in leisure vehicles offers an alternative to conventional electricity generation and storage options: fuel cells are between 2 and 5 times more efficient at producing electricity than a combination of combustion engine and alternator. They run on liquid gas (propane or butane). In addition to motorhomes, these systems can also supply electrical energy for boats and cabins, or traffic control systems and measuring equipment, where mains power is unavailable. Modern-day “nomads” want a high level of comfort without having to rely on campsites, which means using electrical appliances such as air conditioning units, lighting, entertainment electronics and compressor coolboxes. The new on-board auxiliary power unit (APU) has been specially developed for leisure requirements with sporadic usage at weekends or for holidays. It copes equally well with continuous and intermittent usage, or with months of not being used.

This fuel cell unit operates as part of a hybrid system in conjunction with the vehicle battery. It works at any time of day, doesn’t depend on sunlight and only emits very low levels of noise and exhaust gases. As such, this system is different to photovoltaic systems or generators. Finding fuel for the fuel cell is very easy thanks to the widespread availability of liquid gas. Especially in camping applications, liquid gas is state of the art and is used for cooking, heating and cooling.

A service life of at least 3,000 operating hours is anticipated. This is equivalent to using the fuel cell for 750 days at four hours per day. In terms of the average amount of time that leisure vehicles are used – 20 to 50 days per year – this equates to many years of use out of the system.

Leisure applications are very well suited to spreading the use of fuel cells because power generation is less price-sensitive in these applications than in everyday domestic use. The manufacturer estimates the electricity generation costs to be around EUR 0.50/kWh (depending on the costs of filling the liquid gas bottles) – which is well within the normal price range for electricity on campsites.