Compact, lightweight & low-cost hydrogen fuel cell

Energy system models suggest hydrogen and fuel cells (FCs) will play an important role in climate change mitigation. However, one of the major historical and current challenges of commercialising fuel cell technology has been cost. Nonetheless the market is growing exponentially despite the cost/kilowatt (kw) at over 1,000 EUR highlights consumers’ willingness to pay in the face of increasingly stringent environmental regulations. In the face of fast-approaching decarbonisation targets, in many cases (such as heavy vehicles) there is no practical alternative technological solution. The Swiss company believes it can significantly influence the market by achieving significant cost reductions and hence more rapid industrialisation of the technology. The Swiss product offering can be used in stationary applications such as commercial buildings, data centres, telecom towers, hospitals, etc. Furthermore, due to its compactness, their technology will be a front-running candidate for mobile/automotive applications (buses, trucks, vans, forklifts, trains, ferries, etc.) where weight and volume reduction are two key criteria. - Technology Edge- FC Stack: a significantly lighter, more compact, and efficient fuel cell product, with much greater power density characteristics. First generation of their innovative FC technology delivers a power density of 1.5-2 times that of leading competitors’ products. It is also able to operate with minimal effects of gravity and in any orientation; this allows it to work more effectively in mobile applications and opens up the avenue for space related applications. - Technology Edge- FC System: Their innovatively designed FC stack means that they are consequently able to eliminate and/or simplify some of the auxiliary components of a complete fuel cell system. This leads to higher overall system efficiencies, simplified system architecture with fewer overall components and lower costs. - Cost Advantage: The marketplace for fuel cells is currently around 1,000-1,200 EUR/kW. Their first-generation production implementation should see drop this to below 200 EUR/kW at scale, dropping to below 100 EUR/kW at larger volumes. - Design Scalability: Their FC stack has inherent design scalability which allows it to be deployed from small 1kW applications, through to 100kW mobile applications and up to multi-MW microgrids using the same underlying technology platform. Their product will therefore directly address the challenge of current unsustainable or pollutive technologies that power our economy, but that are unfit for purpose in our times. For example, commercial vehicles on land/water and public transport that require extended use, range and/or heavy payloads are primed for disruptive decarbonization that cannot be met by batteries alone (trucks, buses, trains, construction equipment, ferries, etc.). By the end of 2019 they reached TRL 6 with several functional prototypes. Since then, they have been deploying their fuel cells across stationary and mobile applications and have a rapidly growing pipeline of customers. Figure 1) 0.4kW, 3.5kW and 35kW assembled stacks Figure 2) Stack performance (+2.5 [A/cm2] @ 0.6V) The Swiss company is seeking partners to assist with the deployment of their technology across a variety of applications (system integrators, Tier 1 suppliers, etc.) meaning technical cooperation and/or commercial agreement with assistance. This may also include collaboration agreements regarding the assembly of their fuel cell system (BOP (balance of plant), etc)/manufacturing agreement. Crucially, they are looking for partners who share their vision for hydrogen fuel cells‘ role in decarbonisation and in its long-term commitment to achieving them. Open for EU research funding & the EU Green Deal related projects as well financing of the company.