ECO-FCEV - Energy- and Cost-Efficient Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles

Project: Research project

Project Details

Description

The number of fuel cell-powered electric vehicles (FCEVs) on the road is steadily increasing. Especially countries in Southeast Asia, but more recently also in Europe have expressed their intention to focus strongly on hydrogen-based mobility and the overall economy. In order to further improve the economy and attractiveness of such FCEVs compared to other vehicles for customers and thus to achieve an even faster market penetration of these environmentally friendly means of transport, further significant improvements, not least in the passenger car and the light duty vehicle sectors, are necessary. However, there are still major challenges to be overcome in the areas of energy and cost efficiency as well as durability in order to achieve correspondingly optimistic market penetration scenarios for FC passenger cars and light duty vehicles. Significant progress can be expected here, not least through an improved understanding of fuel cell system internal processes (including improved sensory acquisition, monitoring and sampling with innovative test systems for fast validation) and the correct dimensioning/sizing of components and systems as well as the reduction of system complexity (through the development and application of currently not yet available rightsizing strategies), which will then provide the basis for improved energy management and operating strategies, "rightsizing" at the overall system level, and a more durable FC vehicle. To this end, ECO-FCEV will research and develop advanced sensors and components, improved water management for optimum humidification, an open multi-functional modular test system to efficiently transfer of results from lab/test system to vehicle, “right-sizing“ strategies for FC components and systems for technical and economic optimization, to eventually improve energy management and operating strategies on FC powertrain and vehicle level, demonstrated via whole vehicle system simulation. ECO-FCEV significantly increases the future marketability of FCEVs (passenger cars and light duty vehicles) by expanding the knowledge of FCS internal processes and avoiding oversizing, thereby increasing the energy efficiency as well as durability of FC powertrains, and reducing costs at system and vehicle level during development, purchase, and use. Moreover, ECO-FCEV also strengthens the international competitiveness and know-how/competence leadership of Austrian companies and research institutions in the field of truly zero emission mobility, FC-powered vehicles, and related technologies.
StatusActive
Effective start/end date1/02/2331/01/26

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