Fuel cells rolling forward

The hydrogen fuel cell is currently making in-roads at the Friedrichshafen, Germany plant of Rolls-Royce’s Power Systems division where a 250 kW demonstrator is in the process of being set up to test future zero-carbon energy systems and present these to customers.

“We firmly believe that fuel cell technology is set to make a huge contribution to a successful energy turnaround.

The hydrogen fuel cell is currently making in-roads at the Friedrichshafen, Germany plant of Rolls-Royce’s Power Systems division where a 250 kW demonstrator is in the process of being set up.

“That’s why Rolls-Royce sees it as its mission to assume a pioneering role in fuel cell applications,” said Andreas Schell, chief executive officer of Rolls-Royce Power Systems. “Fuel cells shall form an elementary part of our product portfolio for sustainable solutions.”

“The greatest benefit is when they are run on regeneratively produced hydrogen because this enables polluting and climate-damaging gas emissions to be fully eliminated. This gives fuel cells a huge potential to become a major technology for decarbonizing propulsion and electrical power supply systems,” added Dr. Peter Riegger, vice president Rolls-Royce PowerLab.

The company said that much has already happened at Rolls-Royce Power Systems’ Friedrichshafen Plant 1 in recent months, with the complex hydrogen infrastructure – which, the company added, requires a lot of investment – now installed and the container all set up complete with its four low-temperature PEM fuel cell modules.

Designed at the company’s plants in Ruhstorf (Bavaria) and Friedrichshafen, safety reasons dictate the container has two separate compartments for fuel cells and batteries, plus a host of power electronics. The control system has now been fully refined, cooling and air conditioning are on the roof, and a rack system enables simple maintenance, allowing individual system modules to be replaced as required.

The energy systems using fuel cell modules from the automotive sector have been put through their paces on the test stand, and Rolls-Royce engineers said they are happy with the results: “Power flexing characteristics and performance are excellent, and as expected there are no vibrations or no loud noises”, said Riegger. The next step is to connect all four demo modules together in the container and hook up the batteries and power circuit. Commissioning is slated for the second half of 2021.

The demonstrator will be used for test purposes, and to show interested parties which applications the system is suitable for. These include standby power, prime power, uninterruptible power supplies and black start capability, allowing the system to be started from scratch without a mains connection. The system consists of fuel cell modules, batteries, fire protection, air conditioning and safety systems, cooling, gas supply and automation.