The objective of the project is to develop a verified component model catalogue for fuel cell applications in aviation. This includes the mission-oriented design and simulation of various turbocomponents for the anode side of the fuel cell, the hydrogen energy carrier side, from the cryogenic tank for liquid hydrogen storage to the fuel cell stack. These include, for example, compressors and recirculation blowers. The component maps developed by transforming the highly detailed simulation into reduced-order models are stored in the component model catalogue. The performance map-based models can be transferred to full system simulations to simulate the steady-state and dynamic behavior of the system and to analyse and evaluate the specific overall system design.
Figure 1 shows two possible concepts for the design of future fuel cell systems for aviation, which will be analysed in more detail during the project. One is an all-electric system where excess hydrogen from the fuel cell is recirculated by a blower. The other is a hybrid concept in which the energy from excess hydrogen is used for combustion, in addition to the electrical energy from the fuel cell.
The project, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, runs from 1 October 2024 to 31 March 2027 and involves TLK-Thermo GmbH and the Institute of Jet Propulsion and Turbomachinery.
Lars Hinz, M.Sc.
