The Next Generation of Fuel Cell Drives: Breakthrough in Efficiency and Performance for Heavy-Duty Long-Haul Transport

Authors

M. Zubel, N. Weidler, J. Köhler, S. Hollnaicher, N. Loughlan, T. Braun, J. Blum, cellcentric GmbH & Co. KG, Kirchheim unter Teck 

Year

2025

Print Info

Production/Publication ÖVK

Summary

Fuel cell drives can demonstrate their advantages of high efficiency, long driving ranges and short refueling times in the commercial vehicle sector, especially in long-distance and heavy-duty transport. So far, cellcentric has focused on a modular approach to serve the widest possible range of applications by scaling over the number of fuel cell systems used with a system output of approx. 150 kW. The logical next step in development lies in individual systems with high performance and efficiency that have been specially optimized for the requirements and competitiveness of heavy-duty long-haul transport: By making better use of the available installation space in combination with innovations in the fuel cell technology, the next generation of drive systems will achieve a breakthrough in three central challenges: the reduction of the fuel consumption in the double-digit percentage range (-20 % compared to the predecessor), the reduction of waste heat (-40 % at high loads) while at the same time increasing operating temperatures, which leads to significantly reduced cooling requirements, and, last but not least, the provision of high system power (up to 375 kW continuous power). These improvements are expected to lead to competitive driving characteristics for customers, especially on demanding routes in Europe and North America, e.g. on long inclines, at altitude and/or high ambient temperatures. The article shows how these advances can be achieved through a dedicated system architecture, improved cell technology and optimized operating strategy concepts.

ISBN

978-3-9504969-4-9

DOI

https://doi.org/10.62626/akee-kyh6 Copy link

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