In cooperation with specialists Freudenberg, Flixbus and the climate NGO Atmosfair, Tier 1 supplier ZF is working on development of fuel cell technology for a long-range coach application. The objective of the ‘HyFleet’ project is to design and test a purely electrically powered coach, and it is scheduled to run for three years.
“ZF’s broad technology portfolio and knowledge of the electrified driveline as well as the associated systems are already facilitating vehicle manufacturers’ transition to e-mobility. In the future, the fuel cell will play an important role in e-mobility for heavy commercial vehicles due to its range and fast refueling times,” said Wilhelm Rehm, member of the ZF Board of Management responsible for Commercial Vehicle Technology and Control Systems.
“We have always pursued electrification with an open-minded approach to technology – the fuel cell has also played an important role as a drive solution for us from the very beginning.”
According to ZF, the feasibility study will make it easier to optimally design fuel cell drives for heavy commercial vehicles. Specifically, the research will address elements such as dimensioning of the battery and fuel cell, the system’s cooling concept and peak loads experienced under operational conditions.
The consortium is managed by Freudenberg Fuel Cell e-Power Systems, a subsidiary of Freudenberg Sealing Technologies; other partners are the mobility provider Flixbus and the climate protection organization Atmosfair.
“Freudenberg will contribute to the project its decades of fuel cell expertise at component and system level,” added Claus Möhlenkamp, CEO of Freudenberg Sealing Technologies. “We want to significantly develop both the durability and efficiency of the technology and thus set standards for total cost of ownership.”
