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Hydrogen Fuel Cell Plug in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (FCPHEV) offer the potential for zero tailpipe-emission personal transportation with extended range over many battery electric vehicles. As part of the EcoCAR 2 vehicle design competition Colorado State University (CSU) has undergone a complete vehicle design process for a FCPHEV. EcoCAR 2 is a three-year collegiate engineering competition challenging universities in North America to reduce the environmental impacts of a Chevrolet Malibu without compromising performance, safety and consumer acceptability. The detailed design phase is outlined and explained in this paper including component specification, safety, and control. The CSU FCPHEV is intended to serve as a demonstration for how hydrogen and electricity can meet future transportation needs for passenger vehicles.

EcoCAR2 is a three year project in which a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu will be redesigned to reduce emissions and be more energy efficient without sacrificing performance, safety, or consumer appeal. The competition includes 15 universities across North America and is headline sponsored by General Motors and the U.S. Department of Energy. Extensive modeling work guided the Colorado State University (CSU) Vehicle Innovation Team (VIT) to choose an all-electric vehicle architecture with a range extending hydrogen fuel cell. The team has followed the EcoCAR2 vehicle design process (VDP) in the development of the powertrain, energy storage, controls, and auxiliary systems. Details on the design process and results for these subsystems and a discussion of the integration challenges are presented.