In an ongoing project that will last until the end of 2021, five original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and various suppliers have joined forces to bring key technologies to manufacture fuel cell stacks for hydrogen-powered vehicles.
The €30m project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) as part of the National Innovation Programme Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology, coordinated by NOW GmbH.
Formed of the Ulm research institute ZSW, BMW, Daimler, Ford and Volkswagen and well as various other suppliers, the project partners have three main ambitions they want to achieve:
- Automobile high-performance technology: highest power density including low platinum loading, full product maturity, reaching automotive target costs.
- Benefits of industrial economies of scale: common fuel cell specification and system interfaces, scalable fuel cell performance, and a common technology platform.
- Mass production capability: selection and evaluation of critical processes, achievement of automotive quality requirements, and factory planning for fuel cell stack manufacturing.
“With sufficient lead time, it will be possible to prepare for the production of large numbers of vehicles by developing and testing high-speed processes for stack production that are ready for industrialisation and to be able to serve future market requirements in a phase-appropriate manner,” said André Martin, an independent consultant with vast experience in the hydrogen industry.
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