FUEL CELL PROPULSION SYSTEMS for Light Commercial Vehicle application

Authors

T. Johnen, C. Wieser, P. Groß, P. Willimowski - STELLANTIS / OPEL AUTOMOBILE GmbH

Summary

Fuel cell propulsion systems are an useful extension of the existing powertrain portfolio and an important step in the electrification of the automobile. In addition to the existing portfolio of electric vehicles STELLANTIS is developing fuel cell propulsion systems for use in light commercial vehicles (LCV). The first application has launched on the market for fleet customer useage at the end of 2021.

Systems engineering fundamentals have been applied to identify the most suitable solution for the selected segment. Comparing technical options with regard to system performance, energy efficiency, installation space integration and costs a Mid-Power Architecture has been chosen, which allows the customer the full capability of a light commercial vehicle with a range of up to 400 km and a hydrogen refueling time of 3 minutes.

Beside introducing the selected propulsion system architecture and components, first feedback and identified areas of improvement based on customer experience will be reported.