RealHyFC aims to reach required performance targets with proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) stacks towards cost-competitive exploitation for heavy-duty transport.
This will be done relying on key improvements: i) new stable stack design, taking advantage of the two consolidated technologies with carbon and metal bipolar plates (BPPs) (from respectively stationary and light duty applications), coupled to ii) improved balance of stack (BoS), to hinder irreversible degradation of components, and iii) optimized operational monitoring options precluding evitable performance losses.
In line with the goals of the Clean Hydrogen SRIA, the solutions proposed will demonstrate expected KPIs in terms of efficiency, performance (>1W/cm² at 0.675V) and durability (projected more than 20,000 hrs with less than 10% losses), assessed in both representative conditions and scale (based on HD use-cases with at least 280 cm² cells in stacks of 3 to 10 kW), thus eventually bringing to TRL5 the technical objects and tools developed at stack level and at stack / system interface.
RealHyFC will deliver evidence-based insights and models characterizing the escalation of reversible and non-reversible losses attributed to critical characteristics of the HD case:
-enhanced physical degradation of the core components of the unit cell (leading to non-reversible losses) with significant risk of actual corrosion due to longer and harsher usage;
-increased local issues due to appreciable heterogeneities associated to the required large surface area for the high power demand and coupled to driving cycles;
-more challenging control of operating conditions at stack / system interface within acceptable boundaries for preventing faults and sustaining ultra-low requirements for degradation rates.
The investigations and further developments will be started using metallic BPP, and going towards carbon based BPP.
Preventing the stack components local degradations as well as better controlling the stack operation to hinder conditions promoting reversible or non-reversible losses are selected predominant means to improve stacks lifetime. While primarily enabling HDV-specific improvements aiming at selected use-cases, RealHyFC Research and Innovation activities will also give rise to generic ideas and will provide versatile solutions, enabling the PEMFC stack as a building-block foreseen for all HD transport. This will be achieved by including an open-design approach and understanding-based-developments.
Specific objectives defined to build the project actions toward final goal are the following:
Objective 1 - Identify, for the metal and carbon stack platforms defined as reference, the performance and durability issues for heavy duty transport applications.
Objective 2 - Development of model-based new diagnostics and monitoring tools towards optimized hybridization and operating strategies
Objective 3 - Improve two key complementary items of the stack itself: best suited bipolar plates to prevent corrosion risks and optimized mechanical assembling to overcome heterogeneities issues to further enhance stack durability.
Objective 4 - Demonstrate performance and durability improvements in representative conditions at stack scale.
Objective 5 - Lower the risk related to the industrial empowerment on RealHyFC results, identify pain points, how RealHyFC addresses them and ensure the industrial exploitation. Accelerate awareness on H2 for HD applications in all relevant scopes (industries, regulatory bodies, policy makers, citizens).
