Production of Fuel Cells for Aviation: Fields of Action for the Improvement of the Gravimetric Power Density and the Quality Assurance

The aviation industry is committed to reducing its impact on the climate to meet political targets (Paris Climate Agreement, Green Deal) and enhance social acceptance. In particular, the ambitious climate protection targets of Flightpath 2050 require disruptive and revolutionary propulsion concepts. The use of fuel cell systems is one of these propulsion concepts and enables near carbon-neutral operation. The fuel cell acts as an energy converter and supplies the primary electric drives, so that there is potential for emission-free flying, particularly in the short and medium range. However, successful integration of the fuel cell into the aircraft's power train requires a significant increase in gravimetric power density compared to the status quo. In addition, the fuel cell and the entire process chain for its production must fulfill the high safety requirements of aviation. This paper briefly describes the process chain to produce a fuel cell stack, focusing in particular on the key component, the bipolar plate, and highlighting the requirements and quality characteristics specific to each process step. Based on this, the fields of action of the production technology for the achievement of a high gravimetric power density and a quality assurance that fulfills the standards of the aviation industry are derived. Examples for the realization of the fields of action are given based on the process step of forming.