Legacy auto industry suppliers of mechanical parts are rushing to establish their seat at the electrification table, and Garrett Motion—global supplier of turbochargers, e-turbos, traction drives, and cooling compressors of all sorts—has carved out a niche producing the primary mechanical component required to make aoperate: the compressor component that supplies its oxygen.
The exhaust leaving a highly stressed turbocharged engine can easily top 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit. The air and water vapor leaving a fuel cell tops out around 400 Fahrenheit. That simplifies the materials selection task, eliminating the need for high-nickel or other exotic alloys and allowing use of steel and aluminum alloys. Managing the water vapor presents some challenges with erosion of certain materials and components, but the challenges are well understood by now.
Minimizing such parasitic losses boosts efficiency and extends range, and Garrett reports that adding an exhaust expander"turbo" can reduce the electrical energy draw of the compressor by 20 percent. A driver could never feel"turbo lag" in any production FCEV, because they are all battery-electric"hybrids," which rely on stored energy for instantaneous response.