Research that makes production possible
In publicly funded joint projects, industry and research jointly develop the manufacturing technologies for electrolyzers and fuel cells — from the component to the scalable production system.
BMFTR FRHY
Reference factory for high-rate electrolyser production
FRHY is building a flexible, technology-agnostic reference factory for high-volume electrolyser production, with a modular technology toolkit and a connected digital architecture.
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BMDV H2GO
National action plan for fuel-cell production
The national action plan for fuel-cell production — manufacturing research and industrialisation to ramp up fuel-cell trucks for heavy-duty, long-haul transport.
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BMDV KontiBIP
Continuous manufacturing of bipolar plates
A tooling and automation concept for continuous high-volume production of precision metal bipolar plates — from coil to inline quality control at up to 60 plates per minute.
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HyVictus
Reference fuel-cell stack for industrial mass production
A novel fuel-cell stack engineered for industrial mass production, offered as an open reference design for testing and benchmarking within Referenzfabrik.H2.
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BMFTR H2Wind
PEM electrolyser coupled directly to offshore wind turbines
A novel PEM electrolyser coupled directly to offshore wind turbines, producing hydrogen largely autonomously under harsh maritime conditions.
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BMUV HYTRA
Hydrogen Tryout Areal – hydrogen-based microgrid for off-grid power supply
Developing and field-testing a hydrogen-based microgrid (HyGrid) for off-grid, diesel-free power supply — notably for African markets.
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BMUV HygO
Decentralised hydrogen microgrids with integrated water treatment
Decentralised hydrogen microgrids that store renewable power and, using the oxygen from electrolysis, also purify water — validated in Namibia.
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BMFTR DuSwaP
Developing a dual stacking concept and hydrogen-free testing scenarios to provide the fuel-cell-stack volumes needed in the future
A regional innovation alliance (RUBIN) strengthening the fuel-cell-stack value chain — from manufacturing and hydrogen-free testing to repair and recycling.
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SAB Hydrocycle
Hydrogen-powered light vehicle with an innovative fuel-cell stack
A collaborative R&D project developing a hydrogen-powered light vehicle, with an innovative fuel-cell stack as the key technology for carbon-neutral mobility.
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EU H2GLASS
100% hydrogen combustion in the glass and aluminium industry
An EU project developing technologies for 100% hydrogen combustion in the glass (and aluminium) industry, validated on industrial demonstrators up to TRL 7.
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EFRE Hzwo DuoLine
Reconfigurable production line for bipolar plates using passive high-pressure sheet forming
A reconfigurable production line (DuoLine) that uses passive high-pressure forming (above 200 MPa) to make bipolar plates — first for PEM electrolysers, later for fuel cells.
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BMWK Fosta
Advancing passive high-pressure sheet forming (P-HBU) for high-rate bipolar-plate production
Advancing passive high-pressure sheet forming (P-HBU) to lift bipolar-plate output from roughly 7 to 60 strokes per minute.
Learn more →Technology building kit
The technology building kit is being developed for the various hydrogen system components. It comprises several levels, each representing an individual manufacturing or testing step, on which possible process variants and the parameters under investigation are arranged. The aim is to enable a comparison between individual process variants — taking technological, economic and sustainability aspects into account.
A process variant can also be selected for each level, or production step, and then combined into a partial process chain. These, in turn, can be linked across components into value-creation networks.
The technological basis is generated by the participating Fraunhofer institutes. Results from pre-competitive Fraunhofer projects and publicly funded research are made available transparently for knowledge and technology transfer.
Want to start your own technology project? We develop with you — from feasibility to series production.