Intelligent Energy joins European consortium to introduce standardisation for heavy duty fuel cell modules
- The consortium will define, develop and test the first European standard for fuel cell modules for heavy duty applications
- Programme funding of €7.5 million from the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU)
Loughborough, 4 February 2021 – Intelligent Energy, the fuel cell engineering company, announces it is to be part of a multi-million Euro funded European consortium aimed at introducing the first standardisation for heavy duty fuel cell modules, which aims to bring clarity to industries as they adopt and transition to zero emission power technologies.
The StasHH consortium (Standard-Sized Heavy-duty Hydrogen) comprises of 25 leading organisations in the hydrogen sector has received €7.5 million from the European Union via the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU). The total consortium budget is €15 million.
A shared standard for fuel cell modules would provide market competitiveness as it would enable volume manufacture and cost reduction opportunities. The consortium will focus on standardisation for physical dimensions, flow and digital interfaces, test protocols and safety requirements of fuel cells modules. The modules will be scalable and stacked and integrated into heavy duty applications like forklifts, buses, trucks, trains, ships and construction equipment.
Dennis Hayter, Director of Auto-Sales at Intelligent Energy, said: “With 25 organisations on board to achieve this it will be a great milestone for the fuel cell and hydrogen sector. It will make it clearer for potential customers and integrators to understand their requirements. The consortium will aim to produce a similar naming convention to fuel cell modules as the AA-series adopted for batteries. In this instance we are looking at the ‘HH-series’ for fuel cell modules.”
Once tested and key indicators have been achieved to benchmark performance and safety, the consortium will then promote the standard within Europe and internationally to enable its worldwide adoption.
Bart Biebuyck, Executive Director, Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) said: “We are proud to support this strategically important project as a main step towards the decarbonisation of the transport sector. The project outcomes of StasHH will not only stimulate greater competition among fuel cell suppliers but will also enrich the offer and make it easier to integrate fuel cells systems in heavy-duty powertrains. With its specific focus on the heavy-truck sector, this project will play anessential role in reaching the common target of 100,000 trucks by 2030 set in the joint coalition statement of industry representatives last December.”
The StasHH consortium comprises 11 fuel cell module suppliers, 9 original equipment manufacturers and 5 research, test and/or knowledge centres.
ENDS
About StasHH
The 25 organisations that are part of the StasHH consortium are Alstom Transport SA, AVL List GmbH, Ballard Power Systems Europe A/S, Centro per gli Studi di Tecnica Navale CETENA S.p.A., Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives, DAMEN, ElringKlinger Fuelcell Systems Austria GmbH, FCP Fuel Cell Powertrain GmbH, FEV Europe GmbH (supported by FEV Software and Testing Solutions GmbH), Freudenberg FST GmbH, Future Proof Shipping BV, Hydrogenics GmbH (Hydrogenics GmbH is now part of Cummins), Intelligent Energy Limited, Nedstack Fuel Cell Technology BV, Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), Nuvera Fuel Cells Europe, Proton Motor Fuel Cell GmbH, SINTEF AS, Solaris Bus & Coach sp. z o.o., Symbio SAS, Toyota Motor Europe NV/SA, VDL Enabling Transport Solutions BV, VDL Energy Systems, Volvo Construction Equipment (supported by Volvo Technology and Volvo Penta), WaterstofNet vzw.
The StasHH project has received funding from the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen 2 Joint Undertaking under Grant Agreement No 101005934. This Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme, Hydrogen Europe and Hydrogen Europe Research.
About Intelligent Energy
Intelligent Energy is focused on the development and manufacture of its Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell products for customers in the automotive, aerospace, generator, telecoms, materials handling and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sectors. The company is headquartered and manufactures in Loughborough in the UK, with additional offices and representation in the US, Japan, China and South Korea.
About the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking
The Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) is a Public Private Partnership in which the European industry, research, academia (represented by Hydrogen Europe and Hydrogen Europe Research) and the EU (represented by the European Commission) work together to accelerate the deployment of fuel cell and hydrogen technologies. The FCH JU supports a wide range of projects, which help to put the EU at the forefront of research and innovation, bring the benefits of the technology to the citizens and enhance industry competitiveness.
About Fuel Cells
Fuel cell technology is similar to battery technology in that individual cells are built up to give the desired power output. However, fuel cells do not run out of charge as batteries do and will produce power for as long as hydrogen fuel is provided to the cell. Hydrogen is readily available around the world, often generated using green energy.
Fuel cells are deployed in multiple applications where clean, lightweight, efficient and cost-effective power is required. Fast re-fuelling and lack of emissions makes fuel cell technology the immediate choice for forklift trucks and warehousing. Fuel cells are common place in clean construction and backup power for critical telecoms. Powering UAVs with fuel cells allows three times the flying time which gives significant advantages in applications such as aerial surveying and filming and delivery.
Zero emission hydrogen fuel cell technology will be preferred to battery technology in vehicles where rapid re-fuelling, high power and long range are important. Typical fuel cell applications include passenger cars, buses and trucks, along with smaller cars where a high availability is critical, e.g. taxis and shared vehicles. FCEVs are expected to be an integral part of the connected and autonomous vehicle (“CAV”) revolution over the coming years.
Fuel cells are expected to become a dominant technology in de-carbonised aerospace