The Hydrogen Council is a worldwide initiative advocating the adoption of hydrogen in transport and industrial applications, and its latest member, Mahle, believes the fuel will be a key tool in reducing emissions across the automotive industry.
“I’m firmly convinced that hydrogen will play an important role in the defossilization of our national economies,” said Dr Jörg Stratmann, CEO and chairman of the management board. “Mahle is working together with the Hydrogen Council to lay the foundation for the worldwide introduction of hydrogen-based mobility. Hydrogen is a cornerstone of CO2 -neutral mobility, particularly with regard to road transport.”
The company has a long history of developing hydrogen fuel cells and hydrogen-fueled IC engines. It has been producing vehicle fuel cells for over a decade and is currently involved in projects such as the Nikola truck, assisting with development of the vehicle’s thermal management systems and supplying the cooling and air-conditioning system.
Mahle also recently brought together its fuel cell activities into a single department, focusing on fuel cell development for commercial and passenger vehicles. The company said that this would strengthen its research and development capabilities in areas such as thermal, air and liquid management, as well as mechatronics and electronics.
According to Stratmann, recent hydrogen initiatives announced by European governments are a positive development. “The German federal government and the EU have taken important steps in the right direction. However, there is still a lot to be done to industrialize fuel cell technology consistently and complement the highly efficient combustion engine with regenerative fuels, which is important in terms of climate and industrial policy.”