Ballard and Chart test fuel cell powered by liquid hydrogen
by CM Staff
Chart and Ballard will work to identify a potential demonstrator for liquid hydrogen road testing over the coming months.
VANCOUVER — Ballard Power Systems and Chart Industries Inc. report having tested a fuel cell powered by liquid hydrogen.
For the test, a Ballard FCmove™-HD fuel cell was paired with a Chart liquid onboard hydrogen vehicle fuel system. The company said this testing was conducted at Chart’s hydrogen test facility in the state of Minnesota.
The company said this demonstration confirms that heavy-duty vehicles powered by Ballard fuel cells will be able to employ Chart HLH2 vehicle fuel systems that utilize liquid hydrogen as a fuel.
According to the company, liquid hydrogen has a significant space, weight and range advantage compared with gaseous hydrogen, allowing for up to double the range without space claim and payload impacts.
Additionally, the company said liquid hydrogen also allows for simplified fuelling infrastructure for heavy-duty mobility applications such as class-8 trucks, buses, rail, and marine. This recent work builds upon Chart’s previous fill, hold, and vaporization testing of the Chart HLH2 vehicle fuel system.
The company plans to identify applications in which liquid hydrogen might have the potential to unlock long distance opportunities, such as truck, coach bus, off-road, rail and marine. The products tested as part of the work to date include Ballard’s FCmove™ and Chart’s liquid hydrogen tanks which would be suitable for such applications. Chart and Ballard will work to identify a potential demonstrator for liquid hydrogen road testing over the coming months.
