400kW fuel cell has been revealed by Horizon
An excellent new 400kW fuel cell has been revealed by Singapore’s Horizon Fuel Cell. Since this reveal, the company has claimed that it ‘could reduce hydrogen consumption in heavy-duty trucks by up to 20%.’
It has been suggested that the VLS-IV fuel cell has the potential to offer ‘material advantages’ when it comes to fuel cell applications, such as high power output, low costs, long lifespan and high fault tolerance.
Right now a ‘normal’ heavy-duty truck fuel cell has a range in capacity of an estimated, 100kW to 250kW. Through making the decision to increase its size, the firm has said it will ‘provide “ample power” for the “heaviest” on-road trucks.’
On top of this, using the technique of producing a graphite layer through the use of its ‘high-precision molding techniques’ means that the company is able to show that they have effectively reduced the costs by more than 50%.
Along with the various other improvements, this new stack has a metal layer which also includes the use of a new PVD carbon coating, which has been incorporated with the idea of improving conductivity, along with a reduction in contact resistance.
Horizon commented that, with the use of ‘the firm’s graphite-metal hybrid bipolar plate technology, the new system could reduce hydrogen consumption by up to 20% in heavy trucks.’
The company also stated that, “This new fuel cell from Horizon sets the stage for hydrogen applications to enter a new era characterised by higher power, greater efficiency, compact size and lower costs.”