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German Consortium Targets Low-Cost Fuel Cell Stacks
Germany is launching a €60 million ($69 million) program to develop low-cost fuel cell stacks with potential commercial applications by 2020.
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Germany is launching a €60 million ($69 million) program to develop low-cost fuel cell stacks with potential commercial applications by 2020.
BMW will lead the three-year “AutoStack-Industrie” project, which is funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure. Other members include Daimler, Ford’s European research operations, Dana’s Reinz-Dichtungs unit, Freudenberg and several fuel cell component suppliers.
The partners will create common specifications and fuel cell system designs from which a prototype stack will be built. Among the key processes identified are automated high-precision gripping, transfer, positioning and component placement systems, which the group says will be necessary to reduce costs and speed assembly times.
The companies also are collaborating to develop processes for a scalable manufacturing plant that could produce as many as 30,000 fuel cell stacks per year. The flexible system targets stacks with 5,500-hour-lifecycles and capacities ranging from 10 kW to 150 kW.
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