Fuel cells use the chemical energy of hydrogen or other fuels to produce electricity cleanly and efficiently. When hydrogen is the fuel, the only byproducts are electricity, water, and heat. The new Argonne facility will focus on fuel cell systems for various transportation applications, including trucks, railroad locomotives, marine vessels, aircraft, and vehicles in the agriculture, construction, and mining sectors.
The Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO) of DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is funding approximately $4 million for this project. The aim is to enhance the performance, durability, reliability, and efficiency of heavy-duty fuel cell systems while reducing costs.
Set to be operational in fall 2025, the facility will provide industry with a dedicated space and support staff for testing and validating polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell systems ranging from 150 to 600 kilowatts.
Few manufacturers have the capacity to test and validate such large-scale fuel cell systems. Many have shown interest in DOE national labs providing these testing capabilities. Argonne's facility will simulate powertrains for all on- and off-road heavy-duty vehicles using a hardware-in-the-loop environment and the laboratory's Autonomie software for duty cycle commands.
"Providing the opportunity for independent, rigorous testing of first-of-a-kind, large-scale fuel cell systems will accelerate technology development and help identify challenges requiring further R and D," said HFTO Director Sunita Satyapal. "Such capabilities leverage the national labs' expertise and help to de-risk the technology before industry launches larger scale demonstrations and deployments."
"The facility will serve as a national resource for analysis and testing of heavy-duty fuel cell systems for developers, technology integrators and end-users in heavy-duty transportation applications including trucks, railroad locomotives, marine vessels, aircraft and vehicles used in the agriculture, construction and mining industries," said Ted Krause, laboratory relationship manager for Argonne's hydrogen and fuel cell programs.
"The testing infrastructure will help advance fuel cell performance and pave the way toward integrating the technology into all of these transportation applications," Krause said.
This project builds upon Argonne's extensive fuel cell research experience, including the Argonne Fuel Cell Test Facility, which operated from 1996 to 2012. The laboratory has a strong history in evaluating and developing PEM fuel cell technologies for automotive and stationary power generation applications.
Argonne also coordinates various transportation activities across the DOE's Vehicle Technologies Office and other offices.
Research Report:Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office
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Argonne National Laboratory
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