Research project on fuel cell test stand for heavy-duty applications started

October 11, 2022

Development project is funded by the state of Baden-Württemberg

As part of the “FullStack TS fuel cell test bench” funding project, a new generation of test benches is being developed that covers full stacks of fuel cells up to 200 kW and uses high-quality electrochemical measurement methods. In this project, SMART TESTSOLUTIONS is responsible for cell voltage monitoring including contacting of the individual cells. In addition, it is planned to develop a multi-channel impedance spectroscopy measuring device.

The project is funded within the framework of the Baden-Württemberg programme “Lebens-grundlage Umwelt und ihre Sicherung”, BWPLUS for short. The project partners of SMART TESTSOLUTIONS are the company MS2 Engineering und Anlagenbau GmbH and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE.

Currently, fuel cell test benches can accommodate up to 150 kW of power. For some applications, however, this is no longer sufficient. The aviation industry, for example, is planning to use fuel cells with an output of up to 200 kW. In addition, the existing test bench capacity in Baden-Württemberg is too small. The aim of the funded project is therefore not only to develop a heavy-duty test stand, but also to operate it. Fraunhofer ISE will take on this part and develop a corresponding test environment. MS2 will be responsible for the development and construction of the test stand.

As part of the project, SMART TESTSOLUTIONS is expanding the performance of its CVM (Cell Voltage Monitoring) systems for fuel cell monitoring from a maximum of 500 to a maximum of 600 measuring channels with 1000 measured values per second per measuring channel. In addition, the specialist for fuel cell measurement technology wants to develop a multi-channel impedance spectroscopy in order to be able to determine specific ageing parameters of the fuel cells. Current impedance spectroscopy devices are limited to a few channels, so that time-synchronous measurements are not possible for fuel cell stacks with several hundred cells. The more parallelisation is possible here, the more precise statements can be made about the electro-chemical condition of the stack. In addition, the corresponding measurements are accelerated and costs are saved.

“With the funding project, we want to contribute to shortening the development times of fuel cells and systems,” reports Wolfgang Neu, Managing Director of SMART TESTSOLUTIONS and responsible project manager. This is to be achieved by reducing conditioning times, streamlining ageing tests and extending the temperature range.