Hyvia, a 50/50 joint venture between Renault and US-based Plug Power recently opened a new production facility in Flins (FR) to build fuel cells and peripherals for hydrogen mobility.
These are needed for the hydrogen-powered vans that Renault plans to roll out before the end of the year. But possibly even more interesting is the starting point Hyvia is using here. In fact, Hyvia not only wants to power vans with hydrogen. It also offers entrepreneurs the possibility of generating this gas themselves. In this way, they can operate independently of the grid.
In itself, this idea is far from new. But it is very topical. Because the transition from fossil fuel to zero-emission transport is seriously hampered in the Netherlands by cable shortages as a result of an overloaded electricity network. And if all the government’s plans and wishes were really taken up quickly by the business community, an acute green electron infarction would be the result.
Turnkey mobility solution
Hyvia aims to provide turnkey hydrogen mobility solutions for business that will give an entrepreneur with one phone number both the equipment to generate energy, convert it to hydrogen, store the gas and distribute it to his hydrogen-powered vehicles. All he has to bring himself is a sizable roof or his own land for solar panels or a wind turbine. It will be more attractive for many parties than having to negotiate with four-five parties.
Always mobile
The Hyvia idea also immediately deals with the problem that when the sun is shining and your PVs are providing enough energy to charge your vehicles, they are most likely working somewhere. At the moment, that is the dilemma for anyone who wants to service their fleet with their own electricity. Energy storage in battery banks is still very expensive for the time being. According to Hyvia, the conversion of solar energy to hydrogen is the better way to guarantee zero emission mobility at all times.
Fuel cell factory
Most attention recently, of course, has been focused on the commissioning of Hyvia’s new production facility. The focus there was on building the fuel cells needed for the three different models of Renault Master that Renault plans to market as hydrogen vehicles.
This is because the equipment for the periphery around the hydrogen delivery vehicle has long been ready-made on the Plug Power shelf. But this fuel cell, though with Plug Power components, is designed dedicated to Renault.
Robust components
The first difference from a stationary fuel cell is the frame in which all the components are built. This is much more robust because it has to protect the components not only at an automotive level from an impact but also from many more vibrations. The heart of the installation is of course the actual stack. That consists of 200 cells that, with a typical output of 0.75 V, together produce 150 V.
Behind the stack are two DC/DC converters: the first brings the 150 V to the 400 V on which the rest of the drive operates. The second brings the 150 V back to 24 V for controlling the on-board systems.
Typical periphery
The rest of the equipment is the periphery needed for constant and robustly reliable power output. First, of course, there are the electronics that control all the components of the fuel cell in a solid enclosure and keep in touch with the car it’s in. Then there is a large air filter and a compressor.
