BALIS project breaks one-megawatt mark with fuel cell system

In the BALIS project, the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) is establishing a test field for fuel cell-based electric drives expected to deliver up to 1.5 megawatts, with potential applications in aircraft or ships. The project has now reached a major milestone.

For the first time, researchers in the BALIS project have achieved an output of more than one megawatt from both the fuel cells and the electric motor. “This is an important milestone in the set-up and commissioning of the test facility and the first generation of the fuel cell test system,” explained project manager Dr Cornelie Bänsch from the DLR Institute of Technical Thermodynamics.

DLR notes that systems of this power are not yet available commercially, but they are highly relevant for applications in ships, heavy goods transport, mining, and aviation. The DLR spin-off H2FLY, which is developing a hydrogen-powered aircraft, is also involved in the project.

The technical challenge for a fuel cell system in the megawatt range is to develop and combine all components so they run stably at outputs of one megawatt or more. To achieve this, DLR researchers are electrically coupling twelve fuel cell modules, each comprising more than 400 individual fuel cells. Using green hydrogen in the fuel cells could enable climate-neutral mobility.

The modular BALIS test field, commissioned last year in Mengen in the Black Forest, allows comprehensive testing of individual components and entire powertrains, for example in collaboration with aviation research institutes focused on propulsion. Investigations in the test field are carried out as part of the BALIS 2.0 project, funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport (BMV) with 9.3 million euros under the National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology.

dlr.de

This article was first published by Florian Treiß for electrive’s German edition.