Hydrogen-powered fuel cells have the potential to revolutionize the heavy-duty mobility sector such as road, maritime, railway, and aviation, serving as a viable alternative to fossil fuels.
A fuel cell system converts chemical energy from hydrogen into electrical energy. In addition to the fuel cell itself, the system consists of various components, known as Balance of Plant (BoP), which are all crucial for its performance, efficiency and durability.
BeBoP focuses on improving air compressors, humidifiers and DC/DC converters, which are all vital for the performance and durability of fuel cell systems.
BeBop will deliver a more efficient air compressor and a new lightweight and compact DC/DC converter, including a power distribution unit (PDU) and equipped with a cell monitoring function. A novel humidifier will also be developed. This next generation humidifier technology seeks to improve water management and thus the system’s overall performance and lifetime, by strengthening the humidifier’s membrane and optimizing the air flow distribution.
Modelling and system testing
The BeBoP project models will be used to compliment the development and testing of the BoP components to achieve the overall targets. The project will develop models to characterize and optimize operation of next-generation BoP components designed to minimize power consumption and reduce heavy-duty fuel cell systems' hydrogen consumption. In addition, the project aims to develop an architecture optimized through steady-state modelling to improve system performance.
