With RUBIN-DuSwaP, partners from Saxony are building a regional innovation alliance that strengthens the value chain around fuel-cell stacks – from manufacturing and testing through to repair and end-of-life strategies. The consortium brings together 14 active partners, predominantly from mid-sized industry and research, and additionally involves associated market players to accelerate the transfer into real-world applications.
Technologically, DuSwaP relies on a dual stacking concept: modular mini-stacks allow individual units to be tested in a targeted way and then combined into the complete stack. This is complemented by hydrogen-reduced or hydrogen-free testing scenarios that enable tests with significantly less safety effort and are intended to shorten testing times considerably.
Data-driven process monitoring together with flexibly adaptable control concepts – following the principle of 'configure instead of program' – form the basis for a high-rate production process. For the first time, disassembly, repair and recycling are also systematically taken into account, creating the conditions for the re-use and circularity of the stacks.
As part of the RUBIN funding framework, DuSwaP aims to leverage regional strengths in mechanical and plant engineering for the expected market ramp-up of hydrogen applications, making fuel-cell production faster, testable and fit for the circular economy.
Objectives
- Dual stacking: a modular design based on mini-stacks that can be tested in a targeted way and then combined into the complete stack
- Hydrogen-reduced or hydrogen-free testing: faster tests with significantly reduced safety effort and drastically shortened testing times
- Process monitoring and flexible control: data-driven monitoring and adaptable control concepts for a high-rate production process
- Disassembly, repair and recycling: systematic concepts as the basis for the re-use and circularity of the stacks
