Allis Chalmers fuel cell tractor

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The Allis Chalmers fuel cell tractor was the world's first fuel cell vehicle . It remained a unique piece that demonstrated the efficiency of the fuel cells used and thus achieved fame. The manufacturer, Allis-Chalmers based in Milwaukee , Wisconsin , introduced it to the public in October 1959. A film made for the occasion shows the tractor during a field test and plowing with a two-furrow plow.

Structure, properties, use and whereabouts of the tractor

The silent tractor was based on the D-series from Allis-Chalmers and was powered by 1008 fuel cells, which together delivered a voltage of 750 V and formed the largest fuel cell system in the world at the time. The cells contained the electrolyte ( potassium hydroxide solution ) in mats made of porous asbestos and therefore belong to the fuel cells with fixed alkaline electrolytes. Nine cells each formed a unit. The 112 units were arranged in four horizontally mounted stacks. The cells were fed from a propane gas tank behind the driver's seat as well as from oxygen tanks under the vehicle. The tractor weighed 2.39 tons and provided about 15 k W (20  horsepower ). During a demonstration, a piece of an alfalfa field was plowed up.

The reports do not agree on which fuel gas was used and name either hydrogen - which was used in particular for the first cells - or a hydrogen-containing propane mixture, the latter being much more technically demanding.

Since the fuel cells were extremely expensive, no other tractors were equipped with them. Still, the tractor project paved the way for the company to sign contracts with NASA and the US military to develop fuel cell systems. The tractor itself has been shown at various trade shows and exhibitions and then donated to the Smithsonian Institution . It is kept in the National Museum of American History .

Development history and subsequent products

A team from Allis-Chalmers , based in Milwaukee , Wisconsin , had been researching fuel cells since 1951 . It was headed by the engineer Harry Karl Ihrig (1898–1960), who had been Vice President for Research since 1950. From 1956 the working group was led by the physical chemist Jean Patrick Manion, who also worked on fuel cells in the following years. A demonstration of the cells took place in August 1958; in March 1959 the cells were ready for practical use.

After it was demonstrated that an Allis-Chalmers cell would work in zero gravity, the company became an alternative supplier for space applications. In addition to a golf cart and a forklift, she worked with the US military to develop a small one-man submarine. After the government ended financial support, Allis Chalmers stopped research and development on the alkaline fuel cell in 1970.

It was not until 2009 that another tractor prototype with fuel cell drive was presented: The agricultural machinery manufacturer New Holland presented the “New Holland NH 2 ” in Italy . Its engine delivered first 75 k W (106  horsepower ) and in a 2011 presented enhanced version 100 kW (136 hp). However, this development of this vehicle type has now been discontinued.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Eduard W. Justi: Seventy years of fuel cell research . In: British Journal of Applied Physics . tape 14 , no. 12 , 1963, ISSN  0508-3443 , pp. 840–853 , doi : 10.1088 / 0508-3443 / 14/12/306 (English): “contain the electrolyte in porous asbestos […] famous Allis Chalmers tractor”
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g Allis Chalmers Fuel Cell Tractor. Fuel Cell Tractor - Tenth in a historical series of original Allis-Chalmers promotional and sales films. In: Allis-Chalmers Machinery of the Past. Allis-Chalmers, 1958, accessed on November 21, 2016 (English, Allis-Chalmers advertising film showing the fuel cell and the plowing tractor).
  3. ^ Austin M. Frederick: Allis-Chalmers Fuel Cell Tractor. (No longer available online.) Austin M. Frederick on February 28, 2015, archived from the original on November 22, 2016 ; accessed on November 16, 2016 (English, propane tank behind the driver's seat): “It was a one-of-a-kind tractor. [...] the tractor was silent while in operation. "
  4. ^ A b Donna Hancock: Allis-Chalmers Fuel-Cell Tractor 1959. History Wired - No heat, no smoke, no noise. In: Energy. FreedomsPhoenix.com, September 21, 2012, accessed on November 20, 2016 (English): "was then the largest operational fuel-cell unit in the world."
  5. ↑ a b c d Peter Kurzweil: fuel cell technology . Basics, components, systems, applications. 2nd Edition. Springer Vieweg, Wiesbaden 2013, ISBN 978-3-658-00085-1 , 3.8 FAE fuel cell, p. 67, 73 , doi : 10.1007 / 978-3-658-00085-1 : "the liquid ion conductor is immobilized by capillary forces in a matrix of asbestos or ceramic fabric"
  6. ↑ a b c Fuel cells used to power experimental tractor . In: IEEE (Ed.): Electrical Engineering . tape  78 , no. December 12 , 1959, p. 1239–1241 (English, ieee.org [PDF; 16.4 MB ; accessed on November 18, 2016]): “The electricity that drives the tractor comes from 1,008 individual fuel cells joined in 112 units of 9 cells each. The 112 units are arranged in four banks and electricity can be taken from any combination of the banks. "
  7. ↑ a b c d Noriko Hikosaka Behling: Fuel Cells . Current Technology Challenges and Future Research Needs. Elsevier BV, Amsterdam et al. 2013, ISBN 978-0-444-56325-5 , 3 History of Alkaline Fuel Cells, 3.3: Allis Chalmers: Sharing the Same Fate as UCC, p. 43 (English, limited preview in the Google book search): “hydrogen and oxygen as the reactants […] Since the government stopped its funding, the company discontinued its AFC work in 1970”
  8. ^ A b c Patrick G. Grimes: Historical Pathways for Fuel Cells. The New Electric Century . In: IEEE (Ed.): IEEE AES Systems Magazine . The Fifteenth Annual Battery Conference on Applications and Advances, 11-14 Jan. 2000. 2000, ISBN 0-7803-5924-0 , ISSN  1089-8182 , pp. 7–10 , doi : 10.1109 / BCAA.2000.838369 (English): “the first fuel cell tractor […] Jean Manion and others used hydrogen and oxygen to operate”
  9. ^ Herman A. Liebhafsky, Leonard W. Lowach: Fuel Cells . In: Journal of the Franklin Institute . Devoted to Science and the Mechanic Arts. tape 269 , no. 4 , April 1960, ISSN  0016-0032 , p. 257-267 , doi : 10.1016 / 0016-0032 (60) 90353-7 (English, a gas mixture - largely propane).
  10. ^ Allis-Chalmers Fuel Cell Tractor. In: Collections. Smithsonian National Museum of American History, accessed November 21, 2016 (English, “Date Made” indicates October 1959.): “Gift of Allis-Chalmers”
  11. ↑ Harry Karl Ihrig. engineer. prabook.com, accessed on November 25, 2016 (English, born April 6, 1898, died August 22, 1960): "Vice president in charge research Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing corporation since 1950."
  12. ↑ Your Addresses Metallurgists . Capsule Corner. In: The Notre Dame Scholastic . University of Notre Dame weekly student magazine. tape  95 , no. 14 , January 15, 1954, p. 33 (English, online [PDF; accessed on November 25, 2016] student magazine): “Dr. Harry K. Ihrig, vice-president in charge of research, Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Co., Milwaukee, Wis. [...] Dr. Your came to Allis-Chalmers in 1950 ”
  13. ^ Jean Patrick Manion. Notice. In: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Legacy.com, March 2, 2014, accessed on November 21, 2016 (English): "Jean joined Allis Chalmers in Milwaukee and was research group leader in developing the first fuel-cell powered tractor"
  14. ↑ Patent US3758339 : Method of operating fuel cell with hydrogen peroxide oxidant. Filed September 10, 1969 , published September 11, 1973 , applicant: Allis Chalmers Mfg Co, inventor: Jean P. Manion. ‌
  15. ↑ ok: New Holland presents the first fuel cell tractor. (No longer available online.) In: DailyGreen.de. Pixelcut New Media, February 11, 2009, archived from the original on November 22, 2016 ; accessed on November 21, 2016 : "the first with a fuel cell drive"
  16. ↑ Jeremy Korzeniewski: World's first hydrogen fuel cell tractor debuts in Italy. In: Autoblog. AOL Inc., February 21, 2009, accessed November 20, 2016 .
  17. ↑ Hydrogen powered NH2 ™ tractor and energy-independent operation. (PDF) A simpler, safer and cleaner future - within reach. technikboerse.com Deutscher Landwirtschaftsverlag GmbH, March 2009, accessed on November 21, 2016 : "The prototype works almost noiselessly [...] steam comes out of the exhaust" ; Stephan Bähnisch: Clean across the field. New Holland NH2 fuel cell tractor. In: News - Greencars. Autobild.de Axel Springer SE, February 24, 2009, accessed on November 21, 2016 : “The Fiat subsidiary has already presented a prototype at the SIMA agricultural trade fair (February 22 to 26) in Paris" New Holland NH 2TM Hydrogen Powered Tractor
  18. ↑ New New Holland NH² ™ tractor
  19. ^ New Holland - the Clean Energy Leader. Milestones Going Green, Deutscher Landwirtschaftsverlag GmbH, January 9, 2016, accessed on November 21, 2016 .