Hylley - Research into Competitive and Practical Heavy Duty Hydrogen Engines

Hylley explores the hydrogen engine as a climate-neutral and sustainable power source for heavy-duty vehicles and mobile machinery. We want to make the hydrogen engine competitive and practical, to advance research topics and create development methodologies. Today, the hydrogen engine can be operated soundly on test benches. Start-up problems have been overcome and great potential has become apparent. Low NOx emissions have been demonstrated, good dynamics seem possible, and power density and efficiency are gradually approaching the diesel benchmark. On the other hand, the hydrogen engine struggles with combustion anomalies, material degradation, real-world operating problems and a degree of complexity; and a suitable development methodology is not in sight. So, at Hylley, we will promote the hydrogen engine and its regular development in three areas: We are advancing research topics such as combustion anomalies and material degradation to make them accessible to targeted optimisation tools. We are developing these tools and the necessary simulation models. Targeted optimisation makes it possible to improve the competitiveness of hydrogen engines. We are evolving the hydrogen engine through advanced components and strategies. We will explore the ultimate performance potential. This will form the basis for future engine development and design. We are accelerating the actual realization of hydrogen engines by solving the problems of regular real-world use. Anomalies and degradation are the main issues. We develop a demonstrator engine specifically tailored to a later use case. Hylley uses a high performance engine test bed, specialised component and material test benches and various advanced simulation tools to address these challenges. In each project, these pillars interact strongly. Depending on the focus, one or the other forms the backbone of the research, while the other plays a supporting role. Underlying measured data from existing conventional vehicles ensure a realistic scenario for the investigations. In the end, we want to have an advanced hydrogen engine optimisation workflow, hydrogen-specific combustion simulation tools, the performance limits of hydrogen engines, a robust and durable hydrogen engine concept and a demonstrator engine for an actual use case. The corporate partners are a perfect match in terms of interests and competencies. From the outset, there has been a strong consensus on the research needs, which has allowed a very focused, homogeneous and clear project architecture with significant synergies. Each member of the consortium is already involved in hydrogen engine research and each is already a leader in its field. This consortium can legitimately claim to be at the forefront of international hydrogen engine research.