Optima further develops fuel cell technology

IT MIGHT be somewhat removed from the automotive space, but the fact remains that electricity, its production and how it’s used figures prominently in a world we are rapidly advancing towards.

Mixed in with other forms of new energy electricity generation systems are fuel cells which generate electricity from hydrogen through an electrochemical process. Efficient manufacturing processes for fuel cells are crucial as we inexorably move to a fossil fuel free future.

Optima Life Science, a specialist in the field of processing technologies, is currently developing a test converter specifically for the development and testing of innovative manufacturing processes for fuel cells.

Fuel cells as a source of propulsion – via on board electricity generation, have figured in automotive design and planning for more than a decade but have not yet been fully resolved to the point of having fuel cell powered cars available to the buying public. Pure EVs have stolen the running there.

But Optima Life Science receives considerable funding from the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg in Germany which is promoting the construction of a new test system in Schwaebisch Hall with the Future Program Hydrogen BW.

Optima Life Science already offers production systems for fuel cells with a high output. Building on this experience, the company is currently developing a modular test converter. Innovative ideas and process optimisation, as well as product development can be implemented quickly and easily using this test converter.

In the future, production processes for fuel cells will first be verified in a development environment and then transferred to high-performance production systems. Further developments in fuel cell technology will foreseeably always require new structures and dimensions of the fuel cells and also of the membrane electrode assembly (MEA).

Due to various influences – and changing methods of transport – the need for development and refinement of manufacturing processes is in high demand. The Optima MTC (Modular Test Converter) is designed specifically for this purpose and with an adaptable arrangement of the different processes, the reconfiguration, addition and removal of process steps become reality.

Individual processes and complex process sequences, up to the finished MEA for the fuel cell can be tested.

Another benefit is the reduced economic risk when product development and manufacturing process development can go together. Furthermore, sampling and small series production can take place on the Optima MTC system.

The heart of the fuel cell is the membrane electrode assembly. Hydrogen and oxygen are present and electrical energy and water is produced in an electrochemical reaction. The individual components such as membranes, frame material and gas diffusion layers are each fed from the roll in Optima systems.

Individual parts are cut to size and assembled into the MEA in the complex, continuous web process. In order for the fuel cells to achieve the desired level of efficiency, all process steps require maximum precision.

In addition to the manufacturing technologies required for MEA production, Optima offer the traceability of each individual MEA with its digital solutions.

Experiences from projects that have already been implemented and inquiries from the hydrogen industry showed that there is an enormous need for product and process development. To exploit the full potential of production methods and to support the rapid growth of this future technology, Optima received funding from the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg.

As part of the Future Program Hydrogen BW, the Ministry of the Environment, Climate Protection and the Energy Sector has been funding a total of 20 projects of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies since the beginning of 2022.

The German state government is providing budgetary funds of €26.4 million ($A38.9m) for the development of this technology.