Pierburg GmbH, a member of the Rheinmetall Group, is participating in the development of a highly integrated high-power fuel cell driveline for a project funded by the German government. The subsdized project, called "FC Komp", will run until 2021 and contribute to reducing the currently still high manufacturing costs for components in the battery and fuel cell electric vehicle industry.
Automotive supplier Pierburg will contribute a novel hydrogen recirculation blower to the project. Other partners in this project of the German Federal Ministry of Transport and the National Organization for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NOW - Nationale Organisation für Wasserstoff- und Brennstoffzellentechnologie) are carmaker BMW, the University of Siegen, and other suppliers.
Pierburg's novel blower meets the challenge of feeding the hydrogen not consumed in the reaction in the fuel cell back into the stack, thus increasing the fuel cell's efficiency and extending its service life. In addition, it enables improved cold start behavior due to the even distribution of the hydrogen in the cell. The blower was developed in a low and high voltage version with up to 800 volts. The aim is to use the fuel cell instead of combustion engines in the front end of passenger cars, for which crash tests and investigations into the safe functioning of the hydrogen tanks still need to be completed. Dr. Michael Becker, Director for Advanced Engineering at Pierburg, emphasizes the project's future viability for the German mobility transition: "We are noticing increasing interest in the market from almost all manufacturers. This applies, on the one hand, to larger passenger cars and SUVs, and increasingly to commercial vehicles, buses and stationary applications.”
Source: Rheinmetall Automotive AG ǀ
www.rheinmetall-automotive.com
Image: Rheinmetall Automotive AG ǀ
www.rheinmetall-automotive.com
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