Analysis on the supportive technology for optimized manufacturability vs stack performance

The content of this document is a technology and business study in the field of fuel cell technologies in the transport sector (parcel delivery), depending on government requirements (latest pollution laws, etc.) and focusing on the technical aspects. It will give an overall outlook regarding future fuel cell EU targets, resulting in a pre-selection of relevant (present) stacks. The critical technical aspects related to the targeted production ratio will be given and illuminated. In cooperation with WP 2, a review will be performed regarding advantageous manufacturing technologies and strategies: WP2 Redesign current stack and stack design components for mass production and design to-cost. For this purpose, an overview of state of the art manufacturing systems will be provided. In close collaboration with the consortium partners the correct balance has been determined between manufacturability and stack performance. PM has predefined their current and their target automation, production rate and test cycle time for fuel cell stacks. EWii has calculated their current and their target automation and production rate of fuel cell stack components and important requirements regarding quality control and testing, supported by TUC. Based on this PM has also defined a plan for upscaling its balance of plant (BoP) component assembling capabilities to complement the implementation of the automated stack manufacturing. Critical technical aspects are pointed out regarding the targeted production ratio. In order to improve the understanding of the recommendations and related guidance developed in this report, reference to the main objective or product requirements of UPS (delivery service) shall be given. For the delivery sector, it is important to have a range extender for the delivery cars. The demands placed on such range extenders by the parcel service are short charging or refuelling times, and much longer service life compared to privately used cars. However, features of the FC stack for LCV application especially as a range extender such as dimension, weight and power range tend to be subordinate to those prioritized in the private automotive sector. Other specifications may be more critical such as lifetime requirements of up to 20,000 operating hours or even more.