IRI Fuel Cell Control Laboratory
The Fuel Cell Laboratory at the Industrial Robotics and Informatics Institute (IRI) is used to test and validate controllers for systems based on fuel cells, hydrogen systems and other electrochemical devices used to store energy. The lab has five workstations that use oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen and synthetic air. Depending on the type of experiment, each station is designed with specific functionality. The laboratory is equipped with a monitoring system that controls the necessary safety conditions based on electrical failure alarm management, automatic air extraction and routines for safe shutdown of workstations in case of emergency.
1.INN-BALANCE: Innovative cost improvements for balance of plant components of automotive PEMFC systems
INN-BALANCE was a European project that ended in 2021, and was a collaboration between companies such as Brose (Germany), Volvo (Sweden), PowerCell (Sweden) and centers such as IRI and DLR (Germany) . Its objective was to carry out an innovative and integrated development platform to develop advanced components for fuel cell-based vehicles, in order to improve efficiency and reliability, reduce costs and present a stable supply chain to vehicle manufacturers. automobiles and system integrators. INN-BALANCE focused on four main general themes; First, in new component developments, addressing the latest changes and trends in fuel cell vehicle technology, from new air turbochargers, anode recirculation/injection modules and advanced control/diagnostic devices to to new thermal management concepts and antifreeze units based on standard automotive components; second, on vehicle integration and component validation on a TRL7 platform placed on a known automotive manufacturing platform; thirdly, to offer innovative and cost-optimized manufacturing processes specially developed for automotive components; finally, on the dissemination and exploitation of the results, the transmission of new technologies and the public awareness of new clean energy solutions.
2. DOVELAR: Control and energy management of hybrid fuel cell-based electric vehicles
The main objective of the project is to contribute to the improvement of electric motors based on fuel cells. This is carried out in three main directions: the construction of an improved fuel cell compared to the state of the art, the improvement of the energy management and control systems of hybrid PEM fuel cell systems, and the validation and development in three applications of practical interest. Given that these objectives are fully multidisciplinary, the project is structured in three sub-projects. In the sub-project described here, efforts will focus on the development of new energy management and control systems, and their validation in three autonomous electric vehicles. One of the vehicles will be an omnidirectional robotic platform that has been developed by the project team. Its current propulsion system will be replaced by a hybrid propulsion train developed in the project. The omnidirectional autonomous robot is designed to move autonomously as part of a fully automated industrial environment within the framework of Industry 4.0.
3.MICAPEM: Parameter estimation, diagnosis and control for the improvement of efficiency and durability of PEM fuel cells
The main goal of the project was to develop controllers that operate PEM fuel cell based systems with maximum efficiency and minimum degradation. The properties of these controlled systems for stationary combined heat and power (CH&P) applications were shown. Specifically, the project tasks included the design, development and implementation of the control system of a CH&P high-temperature PEM fuel cell-based unit that will be manufactured and integrated into a prototype house by the other two partners of the coordinated project. To achieve the control objectives, the project tasks are divided into two levels: the level of fuel cells and the level of the entire generation system, which includes the elements necessary for the management and use of energy (batteries and/or supercapacitors, power converters, heat exchangers).
Equipment
- Workstation 1: Used to characterize single stacks as well as low and medium power stacks.
- Workstation 2: Based on a 1200 watt fuel cell and is used for the connection of different electrical converters and energy storage systems to validate various control strategies and hybridization levels.
- Workstation 3: Its main element is a climate chamber, which controls relative humidity, temperature and oxygen concentration.
- Workstation 4: Built on a vertical panel and has all the components of a standard automotive system based on fuel cells. It is primarily used to validate fault-tolerant control monitoring systems.
- Workstation 5: Based on a 100-watt fuel cell and metal hydride hydrogen storage tanks, so it is a portable demonstration-focused station.
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