Competencies in the consortium

Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF

Project Lead

The Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF in Darmstadt has been synonymous with safety, structural durability, and system reliability since 1938. With its long-standing expertise in developing methods for experimental and simulation-based multiphysical system evaluation and design, the LBF is developing test procedures, experimental environments, and numerical models in the project to investigate the effects of vibrations on the system reliability of fuel cell stacks. A novel aspect here is the evaluation of vibration influences on the fuel cell stacks during operation.

Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT

The Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT has extensive experience and equipment for the production and characterization of various MEA types and fuel cell systems. Due to its activities in military R&D projects, the ICT has extensive experience and equipment for investigating and evaluating the influence of typical contaminants in fuels. In the project, the influence of air pollutants is being investigated, for which a relevant content in the air of industrialized countries is expected in the coming years and for which a burden from literature data is known or expected.

Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS

The Fraunhofer Development Center for X-ray Technology EZRT, a division of the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS, specializes in the application of X-ray technology in material testing and non-destructive testing of materials. In the project, state-of-the-art industrial computed tomography (CT) systems are used to provide non-contact and non-destructive condition assessment of complete fuel cell stacks (ex-situ). The analysis of the three-dimensional CT data enables access to external and internal structures of fuel cells to realize metrological statements on the macroscopic localization of components and their temporal spatial changes in the load cycle, as well as the detection and localization of defects.

Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS

The Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS brings its expertise in cross-scale evaluation of components to the project. One central focus is the development of non-destructive condition assessment using innovative magnetic field analysis. Furthermore, the detected changes in the fuel cell stacks are verified by targeted defect diagnostics at Fraunhofer IMWS. For this purpose, the localized areas of the fuel cell stacks can be prepared using target preparation and examined using a wide range of diagnostic methods up to atomic resolution.