HyFaB is a joint project of the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württember (ZSW) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE with the aim of researching the processes for the large-scale production of fuel cells and supporting the establishment of an industrial base for them including their implementation.
Results to date
Construction of the research building with gas storage, testing hall and office wing for the HyFaB started on February 10, 2021. The building to accommodate the expanded testing facilities is now completed. The building section to house the manufacturing facilities was completed at the beginning of 2023.
For the experimental work in the HyFaB project, a high-level specification of a "generic stack" was created in dialog with industry and in cooperation with the company EKPO, which was realized within the framework of HyFaB. Once completed, the components of the generic stack will be available to the industry for research and development work. Equipment for cutting and for geometric measurement of electrode-membrane units are also available at ZSW.
Fraunhofer ISE was able to upgrade the designated laboratories for production research on membrane-electrode units. A semi-automatic machine for screen printing, a glovebox to produce catalyst paste, and various devices for analyses, in particular for quality assurance of the produced catalyst layers, were put into operation. Furthermore, test stands and test cells for in-situ characterization of the produced MEAs were implemented.
Studies on paste stability and rheological measurements on various paste formulations were carried out at Fraunhofer ISE. In addition, numerous tests were carried out to optimize the screen printing and slot die processes. Furthermore, the development of AI-based evaluations of production data was started.
