The 'North meets North Hydrogen Dialogue' aims to explore the tale of two Hydrogen Powerhouses, bringing together companies, investors, policy-makers and other stakeholders from England’s north (‘The Northern Powerhouse’) and five northern German states - Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen and Schleswig-Holstein (‘The HY-5 Alliance’). We will explore policy support, discuss strategic similarities and synergies, debate differences and attempt to deep-dive into specific business cases and supply chain challenges.

With focus on areas for cooperation, including a short outline of Germany’s/ Northern Germany’s hydrogen strategy + recent major developments and their impact on accelerating the transition to hydrogen, opportunities for collaboration.

Whilst most of the conversation starts with hydrogen production and end-use, infrastructure to support development of hydrogen supply chain will be critical. It will entail vast storage needs at various stages of the value chain, to cope with variability of production and offtake patterns and ensure security of supply. A wide range of storage solutions do exist or are in development to cover all these needs, covering various sizes, from kilograms up to thousands of tons of H2, and diverse storage systems, from cylinders to storage in tubulars, all the way to geologic reservoirs like salt caverns. With always safety as first focus, Vallourec’s team are also mastering the technical challenges posed by hydrogen, like high pressures, embrittlement of steel materials or tightness of the connections. This is instrumental to develop and qualify the needed storage systems, combining safety, tight containment, longevity, and TCO, and ultimately contributing to robust and cost-effective hydrogen supply chain.

The industrial partners in northwest Germany are striving for a market-relevant integration and scaling of hydrogen technology into the German and European energy system with their "Clean Hydrogen Coastline" project. Clean Hydrogen Coastline is a network of partners across the entire value chain of the hydrogen industry. By 2026, the companies want to integrate up to 400 megawatts of electrolysis capacity with corresponding storage of hydrogen into the energy system in a targeted manner.

The Northern Powerhouse, the birthplace of the first industrial revolution, is host to some of the most advanced hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation and storage projects in the UK. During her presentation, Daniella Carneiro, a hydrogen specialist at the UK’s Department for International Trade, will highlight major emerging hydrogen clusters in the Northern Powerhouse and discuss supportive policies to promote the rapid ramp-up of hydrogen production and usage.

This presentation will focus on the massive European scale-up opportunity from an electrolyser manufacturer’s perspective. ITM Power manufactures integrated hydrogen energy solutions for grid balancing, energy storage and the production of green hydrogen for transport, renewable heat and chemicals. Germany, as an early adopter of hydrogen systems, has for many years been an important market for ITM Power, which is based in the Northern Powerhouse and was the first hydrogen-related business to be listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2004.

A view of hydrogen demand and the value chain depicting current and future applications and technologies. An explanation of how the hydrogen economy and decarbonization will drive pipeline and storage infrastructure and how these requirements can be met with compression technologies.

The Energy Transition will require various technologies to bridge the gap to 2050 and beyond as we continue to work towards achievement of net zero carbon emissions. Hydrogen is expected to play a key role in this effort, although there are many challenges, including a requirement for significant financial investment. Considerations include the role of government and regulations, the availability of transportation and storage options and infrastructure, and the sustainability of various methods of hydrogen production. One new, innovative and clean method of hydrogen production is by a chemical looping process which can produce hydrogen while isolating CO2 for capture, transportation, storage or beneficial use.

The war in Ukraine and the dependence on Russian energy by European nations has hastened the drive for energy transition, as more countries look to reduce their reliance on Russian gas. This session highlights the important role hydrogen plays in energy security and economic growth, especially as nations around the world seek to wean themselves from foreign supplies of oil and gas.

Hydrogen can contribute to a fifth of global CO2 abatement by 2050 and is a critical decarbonisation lever to achieve net zero (ref: Hydrogen Council). To get there, technology is required across the value chain to make, access, and use low-carbon hydrogen at scale.

Replacement of fossil fuels is much larger than an energy transition; it is actually closer to terra-forming. Every aspect of our lives will be impacted and we have to look at the bigger picture to manage the best outcomes. Consideration will be given to the rhetoric versus reality of global transition, likely impacts and potential pitfalls to the current fragmented strategies. It is commonplace to plan from an industrial nation’s point of view but how does that apply to subsistence farmers or small island communities? The aim is to move our leaders on from climate blame to transition solutions that benefit all of our species and, most importantly, our home – the Earth.

This session will discuss what it takes to get large-scale hydrogen projects off the ground, when the market and technologies are not yet fully mature. Hydrogen & Power-to-X is gaining ground and scaling at rapid speed – and there is tremendous potential for hydrogen and Power-to-X to be key drivers of the green transition.

Scaling green hydrogen production from few kilo-watts to giga-watt scale requires intense efforts in terms of analysis around electrical designs, electrolyser selection and optimization across the complete value chain. Technologies like digital twins which help in analysis of hybrid electrical networks and the process needs are helping engineering companies to design the green hydrogen production facilities which are fit for purpose and scalable. Similarly, automation with integrated architecture helps in managing the complete production cycle from choosing the cheapest energy source to management of intermittency of power generation and associated downstream continuous process. Digital twins developed during design phase support efficiency improvement during operate and maintain phase supporting energy optimization and reduced unscheduled downtime. We will discuss how during different phases of the project, such digital solutions help de-risk the projects, improve performance and reduce overall cost.

Hydrogen is a promising energy vector for the energy industry, and thus of importance for EnBW as well. The expected gas demand in Germany could be replaced by green gases, especially hydrogen, in the long term. Green hydrogen (hydrogen from electrolysis of water with renewable electricity) is the most expensive of all production methods, is on the other hand politically preferred ("system change"), since no fossil fuels are used for production. The H2-technologies are relative mature and commercially available, but not yet widely used in the energy industry. With numerous pilot and demonstration projects along the entire value chain, EnBW is striving to build up know-how in this area. One example is the project “living laboratory H2-Wyhlen".

For a green hydrogen economy to grow and function, we need to create a whole value chain. In Lower Saxony, there are already more than 80 projects in the works. This presentation will take a closer look at the hydrogen value chain in Lower Saxony and present best practices: from import, electrolysis and infrastructure projects to consumers, e.g. in the steel industry.

Together with representatives from EWE, Energy Hub Wilhelmshaven and Hydrogen Campus Salzgitter, Niedersächsisches Wasserstoff-Netzwerk will discuss what needs to be done to connect hydrogen clusters to create a whole value chain. We’ll also look if the “Deutschlandgeschwindigkeit” (German velocity) is speeding up the energy transition fast enough. And a call to the new government in Lower Saxony: How financial aid, speed and further cooperation is needed to reduce CAPEX risks and ensure a functioning value chain.

The paper will draw on Europe’s 50 years’ experience with long-term natural gas contracts and identify parallels and differences with the future hydrogen contracts. It will address how price-indexation might work and how the credit-rating of potential offtakers could affect the trade. Carbon Contracts for Difference are expected to cover the additional costs for green products as compared to conventional products but exactly how these will be constructed and connect with the hydrogen contracts still needs to be addressed. The paper will consider a number of open questions and suggest how they might be resolved.

Offshore hydrogen will enable the significant scaling up of offshore wind and hydrogen production, producing hydrogen at the green power source with a variety of transportation options for both domestic use and export. RWE has a clear ambition to provide sustainable long-term green hydrogen production options, and a development target of 1 GW of offshore wind coupled with hydrogen capacity by 2030 is being pursued, with a vision of GW-scale off grid offshore H2 production by the early 2030s. This presentation will give further detail of our ambitions and our on-track, offshore hydrogen projects.

We are going to talk about technology agnostic optimization of energetic solution in function of energy and molecules demand for decarbonation in the projects from kW to GW scale. Moreover, we will share our experience from executed projects, the risks and mitigation measures.

Introduction of the Inn2POWER Interreg North Sea Region project: The aim of our project is to expand the capacity for innovation and to improve access to the offshore wind industry and green hydrogen for SMEs by connecting offshore wind and green hydrogen businesses in the North Sea Region.

Hydrogen, produced decentrally using electrical energy from renewable sources, will play a key role in local energy supply with decentralized microgrids in the future. In addition to the climate-friendly extraction of hydrogen for energy storage with electrolysers, this includes its subsequent use in energy systems based on fuel cells or on hydrogen combustion engines. Further processing of the hydrogen into gaseous or liquid synthetic fuels is also conceivable. With Rolls-Royce's technology portfolio including electrolysers, we aim to provide the green fuels as well as cover end-user applications with fuel cells, H2-Engines, methanol Engines.

The UK Government is pushing ahead with its ambition to deliver 5GW of low carbon hydrogen capacity by 2030 by introducing the Low Carbon Hydrogen Business Model. This comes with some challenges to the energy supply of projects looking to participate in the scheme in securing competitive pricing over the term as well as guaranteeing their supply qualifies as low carbon. As a leading integrator of renewables supply and industrial demand, Statkraft is trying to offer solutions to overcoming these challenges in an evolving regulatory environment.

As governments, industry experts and the private sector continue to invest in hydrogen technology more and more every day - This session highlights the requirements needed for a clean hydrogen economy to flourish and collaborative approaches seen in industry today. The session will also highlight the regulatory framework and market instruments needed to incentivise the use of renewable and low-carbon H2 and increase its cost-competitiveness.

The world needs electrolytic (green / renewable) hydrogen. Exactly how much can be debated, but that it will have a significant role to play in the energy transition is beyond doubt. Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolysis is one of the technologies used to produce electrolytic hydrogen, and to do so it uses platinum group metals (PGMs) called iridium and platinum. If supply chains work together effectively and iridium is actively managed, PEM electrolyser growth ambitions should be realised both to 2030 and beyond.

An energy supply system that reliably supplies households, industry and commerce without fossil baseload power plants - how will this work? In a 100% renewable scenario, we assume that there are no more baseload power plants. The energy supply for electricity and heat depends solely on renewable volatile sources like PV and wind but also energy from sustainable materials such as wood and other biomass. In any case, the energy supply must be reliable and affordable for all sectors and regions at any time. In order to find the right solution, we need to change our mind set. Instead of starting from current bidirectional solutions, we have to think in terms of meshed functions and value streams. Using the example of the district of Wunsiedel in the Fichtelgebirge, we would like to show a possible solution for such a renewable scenario enabled by digitalization and an 8.5 MW Electrolyze system for sector coupling.

Hydrogen generation by electrolysis will play an important role as a crosslinking technology between power generation on one hand and transport and industry on the other hand. When produced by water electrolysis from renewable energies - such as solar or wind - hydrogen can directly replace fossil fuels in transport and industry, thereby helping in the integration of renewable energies in other energy sectors. The relevant technologies are either the mature alkaline water electrolysis (AEL), the newer proton exchange membrane (PEMEL) water electrolysis, or the less-mature high-temperature solid oxide electrolysis (SOEL). The AEL has the benefit of using inexpensive materials and a superb durability record, whereas the PEMEL can excel with small footprint, high current densities and simplified system design. SOEL has the potential of highest electrical efficiencies when high-temperature heat is available but still requires scale-up efforts for reaching MW power levels.

ABB successfully performed a study of 100MW factory building block fed with renewable power, with support of HydrogenPro and in collaboration with Equinor. The study show that it is possible to run a large-scale hydrogen system fed by 100% renewable power in off grid mode. The variations in the wind pose great challenges for stabilizing and balancing active and reactive power. Through careful system design and control implementation, it is possible to regulate the system with only a modest size of battery capacity of roughly 10% of the installed capacity of electrolyzers. It is found that the variability and quality of the wind resource not only affects the total hydrogen production, but also the required balance of plant design. Over the course of a year, the hydrogen plant will only intermittently be offline and operate for a considerable amount of the time in a high production state. For the considered wind resource and relative sizes between wind and electrolyzer power, the electrolyzer trains’ utilization is around 77% over the course of a year. The results of this work show that the large-scale hydrogen system is a promising prospect for accelerating the energy transition while improving energy security in the world.

How to make use of the waste heat generated in green hydrogen production while increasing the efficiency? There is no single of simple solution to reduce the worlds emission of carbon dioxides – many technologies and fuels have a part to play across all sectors of the economy. Energy efficiency will be one of the main contributors to reach the Paris agreement and can stand for 40% of the emission reductions in the next 20 years according to IEA. The technologies to make our existing industry more sustainable through energy efficiency already exists today. However to reach a Net-Zero 2050 – according to IEA almost half of the emission reductions will come from technologies that are in prototype or demonstrations phase today. Green hydrogen, carbon capture, long-duration energy storage, all of them will need a lot of investments to become reality. In a Net-Zero 2050 scenario, 22% of the world’s energy demand could be made up of clean hydrogen. In order to enable and accelerate the massive deployment of the hydrogen industry it is necessary to reduce costs and increase efficiency of the processes. Looking at the complete hydrogen value chain, there are multiple areas where innovative heat transfer is needed in the processes, and an important factor is increasing the systems efficiency is to optimize utilization of the heat and avoid heat losses. Looking specifically at the green hydrogen production, the chemical reaction in the electrolysis process is producing a lot of excess heat, about 20-40% of the electrolyser capacity is turned into waste heat. No matter the technology the temperature control is of outmost importance in order to ensure maximized production and efficiency of the electrolyser, but also to ensure maximized lifetime of the equipment. So the electrolyser needs to be cooled off, along with the hydrogen and oxygen gases. With the Alkaline and PEM electrolyser technologies in play today, we have a rather low operating temperature, typically 50-80degrees Celsius, and it can be difficult to find a useful offset for this low-temp heat. At the same time, every 10 MW of electrolyser capacity needs around 60 m3 of clean water per day, this means also efficient water production is needed. Instead of using conventional osmosis technology to demineralize the water, an alternative is to integrate the waste heat directly back into the electrolysis process by utilizing it for the water production. By a thermal desalination technology, especially favourable when operating offshore or when fresh water is scarce, the water is simply demineralized by the waste heat, minimizing the use of chemicals and increasing the overall process efficiency with about 27%. With partnerships and collaboration across borders, we can together accelerate this energy transition and make the decarbonized future a reality.

Since its invention by Walther Grot in the late 1960’s, Nafion™ PFSA ionomer has been used to make proton exchange membranes (PEMs) that can generate hydrogen through electrolysis and generate power from hydrogen. This forms the basis of a hydrogen economy that will support mobile and stationary applications. To meet the evolving demands of the growing hydrogen economy, scientists and engineers are building on over 50-years of Nafion™ innovation and manufacturing expertise by continuing to develop advanced forms of these unique ionomeric materials. In this talk we will demonstrate how ongoing advances in the responsible manufacture of Nafion™ polymers, membranes and dispersions can continue to advance the performance of water electrolyzers, without compromising the proven reliability of these systems. The Nafion™ constructions introduced in this talk will enable electrolyzers that are more efficient and easier to manufacture at scale. The capex and opex improvements enabled by these new materials will drive down the cost of green hydrogen, enabling a competitive and sustainable replacement to fossil fuel-based technologies.

This session highlights challenges and opportunities to bring down costs to allow hydrogen to become widely used and scale up technologies.

The presentation will give an overview about the configuration of the ASFC system, which is based on independent systems with app. 80 kW each, resulting in a scalable total FC power output depending on the required power of the submarine type. Due to the submarine application scenario, the ASFC has special features beyond the usual fuel cell spectrum. The ASFC system is operated with specific gas concentrations, especially higher oxygen contents than usually to be found in the FC community. Further, innovative gas recirculations on anode and cathode side are applied. High reliability by a fault tolerant design and high maintainability through highly modular build-up are of utmost importance. The ASFC system is not only foreseen to operate on board military submarines. Requirements derived from civil applications like subsea power generation have also been considered in the project. For example, this means that the fuel cell system must be able to operate continuously for more than 5 months. With ASFC, thyssenkrupp Marine Systems has developed a highly available and high performance FC option with the design sovereignty from cell to system level.

PACE will see over 2,800 householders across Europe reaping the benefits of this home energy system. The project will enable manufacturers to move towards product industrialisation and will foster market development at the national level by engaging building professionals and the wider energy community. The project uses modern fuel cell technology to produce efficient heat and electricity at home, empowering consumers in their energy choices. PACE project, which stands for “Pathway to a Competitive European Fuel Cell micro-Cogeneration market”, is co-funded by the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) and brings together European manufacturers, utilities, and research institutes making the products available across 10 European countries.

These are the 3 questions that keep us busy: how much does a plate cost? How do the plates have to be produced? And how much does a machine cost? We get to the bottom of these questions and highlight the interaction between plate, production process and plant technology. Further, we show all strategically important steps towards the optimally designed production plant: Starting from engineering with a view to plate design and plant technology via prototyping in the application lab up to the customized production line

The session will highlight cellcentric as a Daimler Truck AG and Volvo Group Company, the technology, the specific requirements for heavy-duty applications, the set-up for high-volume manufacturing and the necessary eco-system for successful commercialization of fuel cells in the heavy-duty (and stationary) sector.

Global concerns regarding climate change have prompted zero emission vehicles to be mandatory in many markets as soon as 2030. Battery electric commercial vehicles are becoming significantly more popular. Although they meet the needs for most duty cycles for passenger cars, they do not satisfy all of the use cases, especially those that cannot afford downtime due to charging time and long distances travel with payload. There are also significant opportunities for reduction in CO2 emissions in marine and inland waterway vessel which seems to be a market yet to be explored to its full potential. A pure hydrogen fuel cell based powertrain presents a solution to such use cases and is attracting a lot of interests. Bramble Energy’s patented printed circuit board (PCB) fuel cell technology, the PCBFC™, enables low cost production of hydrogen fuel cell stacks and high specific power. PCB based fuel cell technology also eliminates the need for a de-ionizer in the system thus simplifying the system and removing the need for service or replacement of the deionizer. This paper describes Bramble Energy’s liquid-cooled PCBFC fuel cell system applied to a light-duty commercial vehicle demonstrator increasing the zero-emission vehicle range and an Unmanned Surface Vessel as a marine application replacing a diesel generator and thus decarbonizing the marine vessel in the application.

This presentation gives insights in to what Fluid Management in hydrogen is all about: Beginning with providing hydrogen: Hydrogen Storage Systems: Bespoke Architectures (lines, valves, boss). We will also showcase how to achieve the best gravimetric density on the market. As well as the Balance of Plant Fuel Cell (Integrated Media Modules(Anode/Cathode), Thermomanagement, Valves, Lines Purge and Drain, BoP Energy Harvesting and Utilization). Highlighting approaches shown to achieve the highest energy density.

The presentation aims to demonstrate the integration of Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell or SOEC-based eletrolyzers for hydrogen production in UAE to support the UAE’s hydrogen manufacturing vision to produce hydrogen owing to the local & international increasing market demands. The Abu Dhabi Hydrogen Electrolyzer Program or ADHEP is a consortium unit comprised by MMEC Mannesmann LLC, an Emirati EPC-Technology Integrator company; AVL Schrick GmbH/AVL, The Austrian world-leading technology developer is renowned for its development of Hydrogen & Fuel Generation, SOEC, and Synthetic Fuel systems and various innovative technologies for Hydrogen production, a renowned Fuel Cell manufacturer from Europe. ADHEP is backed and supported by the UAE’s Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology.

As industry strive to take hydrogen technologies to large scale adoption, enhancements in durability, performance and cost are becoming paramount. HORIBA are working with customers and partners to develop new measurement, testing and analytical solutions that help to efficiently and effectively accelerate adoption and deployment. In this session you will learn how HORIBA are developing advanced solutions for measuring hydrogen quality, flow consumption and materials analysis for fuel cells, electrolysers and hydrogen combustion technologies. Also how HORIBA MIRA Technology Park is partnering with green hydrogen technology providers to create the ‘UK’s First Hydrogen Technology Hub’ (UKH2TH) providing a catalyst for hydrogen eco-systems and enabling the deployment of fuel cell 44 tonne fuel cell trucks in and around the Midlands.

Parts and components up to millions per year, even quite sizeable ones, such as bipolar plates for H2 - fuel stacks are ideal items to coat in an in-line coating system. PVT has designed to types of in-line systems to coat bipolar plates for fuel stacks and electrolyzers, razor blades, mirrors for collection of sun energy, etc. In-line coating systems are characterized that each and every process step is performed in its own dedicated vacuum chamber, separated from each other by large area transfer valves. Mono and multi-layers are deposited in a highly productive process cycle, feeding the parts in on one side, running them through various vacuum chambers and releasing them coated to air on the other side. Parts can be coated statically as well as in a dynamic mode, moving them back and forth. PVT will present 2 in-line systems, different in concept, however extremely productive and versatile using coating processes such as arc evaporation, magnetron sputtering, either pulsed dc and or in combination with HiPIMS, and PECVD.

TFP Hydrogen is a leading provider of materials that reduce the cost of green hydrogen generation. We currently manufacture a portfolio of products addressing key materials challenges in catalysis and corrosion resistance across PEM and alkaline technologies. Our innovation roadmap illustrates our commitment to further development of existing products and development of additional products to support the green hydrogen industry achieve its goals. This paper will review the current TFPs capabilities.

Exploring the VL SOC Portfolio for a hydrogen based energy system. Efficiency potential of Solid Oxide Cell Electrolysis for cost competitive hydrogen production. Hydrogen production and PtX pathways. AVL’s current electrolysis and PtX developments. AVL’s current H2 based SOFC developments. An outlook on hydrogen and electricity production costs.

This presentation will outline the current manufacturing technology of carbon/graphite components (gas diffusion layers and bipolar plates) and discuss critical needs to enable commercial success of PEM Fuel Cells and Electrolysers.

Hydrogen is an energy carrier, but unlike electricity, it requires filtration. A hydrogen economy will rely on hydrogen synthesis, this process is sensitive to contamination and requires involves filtration. The produced hydrogen requires filtration to a high purity level and should remain clean up to the final point of use. Different filtration processes and methods are needed in this hydrogen purification. PEM Fuel cells are known to be deactivated by chemical trace compounds. Both the anode and cathode need to be protect by high tech filtration to ensure a long life of the fuel cell, without any performance degradation. In addition to hydrogen filtration products, Donaldson is also offering membranes used in electrolyzers and PEM fuel cells.

Today, the hydrogen fuel cell is already providing answers to the questions of a climate-neutral energy landscape of tomorrow. As an emission-free, low-noise and cost-saving alternative, it is the green engine in the global race-to-zero. The hydrogen fuel cell offers enormous opportunities to successfully meet today’s challenges in an increasingly complex power generation landscape by providing advantages of lower total cost of ownership, remote monitoring and control as well zero emission and no noise.

Fuel cell technologies have experienced cycles of high expectations followed by periods of disillusionment. Recent evidence however suggests that these technologies form an attractive option for the decarbonisation of the global energy mix, and that recent improvements in their cost and performance point towards economic viability as well. Are we now at a time where we can see fuel cells competing against both fossil fuels and batteries?

The presentation will focus on the role of fuel cell and hydrogen technology innovation in achieving Net Zero targets. What are the conditions for creating an environment conducive to developing novel and economically impactful catalysts components for green hydrogen technologies, novel materials and coatings as well as advanced coatings? How can industrial and regional collaborations support innovation goals and what’s challenge led innovation? These are some of the topics covered during this session, providing case studies and first hand experience from the Manchester Fuel Cell Innovation Centre.

PowerCell fuel cell stacks and systems are validated in depth, both from a technology and supply chain aspect. The fuel cells have undergone development for improved durability, wider temperature and operating range. PowerCell’s fuel cells are broadly used in various applications, such as marine and aviation.

Electric vehicles that use fuel cells for on-board power generation are seen as a cornerstone of zero-carbon, zero-emission long-haul heavy-duty transportation. Modularization of fuel cell stacks, components and systems is critical for rapid market entry and lower total cost of ownership. To achieve this, efficient development processes must be utilized to handle the wide variety of applications and use cases. These goals can be achieved with model-based development approaches across the entire development chain.

Ten years ago, the hydrogen mobility market was to be developed with LDV mobility. Today the focus is shifting to HDV gaseous at 350 bar. In the future HDV 700 bar of LH2 might become the standard. The HRS capability need to adjust to this rapidly changing landscape in H2-mobility. The presentation focuses on how Resato’s HRS capability is developing to these new market requirements. We also address the impact of lack of standards in the H2-mobility market and what can be done to change that.

Market forecasts predict a significant increase in the demand of green hydrogen towards the end of the decade and beyond. This is along with demands to manufacture fuel cells and electrolysers on a large scale. In our presentation we show what is required to build a complete factory and - as an example - our way to develop a solution for the serial production of bipolar-plates (BPP) in cooperation between companies Schuler and Soutec of the Andritz Group and thyssenkrupp Automation Engineering.

The global market for fuel cells is projected to reach almost US$15 billion by 2027, driven by the technology’s crucial role in building a clean and sustainable planet for future generations. Despite the research and improvements in fuel cell design and components made over the past several years, many issues still have to be addressed before they can finally become competitive enough. What are the latest developments in the market and what does the future of design look like for fuel cells across multiple industries?

Ensuring leak tightness of fuel cell components, stacks and systems as well as automated assembly solutions to manufacture high-quality fuel cell stacks in essential in the hydrogen industry. This presentation will give a close insight into leak test solutions for fuel cell components and stacks. Furthermore, the challenges of high-speed stacking machines will be discussed and concluded with solutions to ensure high output and quality.

Laser production processes are established in many areas of manufacturing chains but still on the rise in fuel cell manufacturing. To decrease manufacturing costs, process chains need to be more productive, achieved through process automation, parallelization and upscaling in processing speeds as well as through an increase in process robustness and new production approaches.

With an ever-increasing number of fuel cell providers worldwide, it can be challenging to decide what products are the best fit for a given application. There are many considerations ― not all of which are obvious. Vehicle manufacturers and system integrators often focus on standard benchmark criteria such as product durability, power density, and efficiency. While these are important, customers should also be aware that for fuel cell vehicles and equipment to succeed in commercial applications, it is essential that the power system be reliable, industrialized, and easy to integrate – and that the provider be a qualified and trusted partner. Nuvera’s products are designed with reliability, manufacturability, and integration at the forefront. Reliability translates to high asset utilization, which contributes directly to productivity. Industrialized automated manufacturing processes enable high quality control. And fuel cell ease-of-integration into vehicle powertrains saves customers significant development time and money. Nuvera understands how high-caliber documentation, a wide network of integrators, and services provided by experienced technical and support teams are vital to ensuring customer success. As important as a technology performance checklist is for supplier evaluation, trust may be the most important – if more difficult to measure – factor. Being a responsive and dedicated partner and offering high value product and services is Nuvera’s approach to earning customer trust.

Fuel cell powered vehicles have to be extensively tested: On the one hand the fuel cell stack has to be tested to ensure proper function. On the other hand the efficiency of the whole powertrain has to be measured in order to verify and prove all system-relevant performance parameters.

Various forecast models show a strong increase in hydrogen-powered vehicles worldwide from 2030. Currently we already see an increase in registrations, especially in the area of heavy-duty vehicles. The characteristics of PEM Fuel Cells make them ideal for mobility solutions. One key component of the Fuel cells are metal bipolar plates produced out of stainless steel. In the acidic environment of PEM fuel cells operation, metal bipolar plates are sensitive to corrosion, which leads to lower output efficiency as well as serious effected the application. Applying a protective coating to the metal plates is an effective way to improve its corrosion resistance. Besides the development of carbon-based coatings, Hauzer has invested for years in high-productivity solutions to satisfy the marked needs.

The two main challenges of hydrogen mobility in the area of efficiency and price must be taken into account in every single component. Manufacturing approaches must be found that make a fuel cell maximally efficient at a minimally possible price. The entire future of hydrogen depends on this.

The form and dimensional accuracy of bipolar plates is critical and difficult to measure. Bruker Alicona 3D optical metrology solutions provide the ability to measure, without physical contact, these delicate components.

The fuel cell stack and its components are being manufactured using mostly laboratory fabrication methods that have been scaled up in size, but do not tend to incorporate high-volume manufacturing methods. More manufacturing research is needed to prepare advanced manufacturing and assembly technologies that are necessary for low-cost, high volume fuel cell powerplant production. There have been recent successful demonstrations of automated lines but what is required to then bring automation to scale?