Modular Fuel Cell Engines for Passenger and Commercial Vehicles as well as for Stationary Applications

Authors

Prof. Dr. rer. nat. C. Mohrdieck, Dipl.-Ing. G. Hornburg, Dipl.-Ing. M. Handgrätinger,
Daimler-Konzern, Mercedes-Benz Fuel Cell GmbH, Kirchheim unter Teck/Nabern

Year

2019

Print Info

Fortschritt-Berichte VDI, Reihe 12, Nr. 811

Summary

The introduction of new technologies cannot follow a predefined roadmap. It needs to be flexible to be able to react on changes of the environment. This is also valid for the fuel cell. Currently the environment is changing and requires an adaption of the fuel cell development strategy, in order to react on new applications in a flexible way.
Therefore a modular development approach is followed, which allows to react fast and flexible on new application demands and reduces development as well as product cost especially at low volumes. This modular approach is aiming to achieve as much as possible synergies in different fuel cell engines, i.e. system architecture, technologies, components and the multiple use of fuel cell engines in form of e.g. twin engines for heavy duty applications.
This modular approach has been successfully demonstrated in some applications. One example is the Citaro Fuel Cell Hybrid Bus launched in 2010, which was using a twin fuel cell engine based on the Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CELL. A further example is the Mercedes-Benz Concept Sprinter F-CELL, which has been equipped with the fuel cell engine and tank cylinders of the Mercedes-Benz GLC F-CELL in 2018. The same fuel cell engine was also used for the demonstration of a stationary backup power plant at a Hewlett-Packard datacenter in US.