The quality of the hydrogen dispensed at hydrogen fueling stations (HRS) is defined in the EN17124, ISO14687 and SAEJ2719 standards. The standards specify limits to be observed for 15 pollutants or groups of pollutants in hydrogen. However, the scientific and technical basis of these limits is outdated and the limits must be adapted to the requirements of current fuel cells. If the limits are considered too high, this can lead to faster degradation or, in extreme cases, to functional failure of the fuel cells. If the limits are set too low, this leads to higher costs in hydrogen production due to the associated, complex quality assurance.
For updating the standards, a basis must be created from measurement data on fuel cells of today's state-of-the-art. For this purpose, degradation measurements with combinations of 15 different pollutants & concentrations, different membrane electrode assemblies (MEA) & different load profiles are required. In total, about 300 24/7 test months are required, which are currently performed at ZSW and two partner institutes within the H2Fuel project. For this purpose, the ZSW has expanded its fuel cell test field by three new test benches. In addition, two existing test benches are also being used for the project.
Project partners are Zentrum für BrennstoffzellenTechnik GmbH (ZBT), Fraunhofer ISE, Ludwig-Bölkow-Systemtechnik GmbH (LBST) and Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf (HHUD). Associated partners from industry are Daimler, BMW, Ford and ElringKlinger. The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI).