Vehicle manufacturers are to reduce the CO₂ emissions of new trucks dramatically within the next decade. That requires to consider emission-free/neutral vehicles in the fleet mix. Especially for the application of heavy-duty (HD) long haul trucks, fuel cell powered trucks demand a holistic concept for the integration of the entire powertrain, its auxiliaries and the complete vehicle’s energy management.
In an internally funded research project, AVL built up a Fuel Cell Technology Demonstrator Truck. This vehicle is not intended to go into series production but to show leading-edge solution to challenges these vehicles are facing today. Due to the length restrictions of semi-trailer trucks in Europe, packaging into the chassis without having a rack behind the cabin is an issue as well as the ambient temperature level, at which the fuel system is to be derated. Solutions are highlighted in the article how to reach the performance of today’s standard diesel trucks. Furthermore, the achievements in fuel cell development are pointed out. The insights obtained in the development and prototype testing phase of AVL’s Gen 0-based high-power heavy-duty fuel cell system, the new AVL Gen 1 stack platform was developed to address the needs of commercial vehicles. The new stack platform guarantees high power (200 kW) at high efficiency (56%) in a single cell row, providing the basis for dedicated fuel cell system optimization to reduce complexity, weight, volume and fuel consumption, while achieving the performance and lifetime requirements of fuel cell powered commercial vehicles. Finally, AVL’s contribution to the development of electrolyzers is presented to provide green hydrogen for mobility and other industrial applications. AVL has successfully participated in the development of stack prototypes and solutions in the megawatt range.