Banc à pile combustible

ALTOS

Optimizing auxiliary thermal management and air supply systems for fuel cells

The aim of this project is to study, for optimization purposes, the thermal management system of a fuel cell with an experimental approach and modeling.

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Hydrogen is set to play a key role in the energy transition, in particular to decarbonize transport.

Fuel cell vehicles need to deliver energy reliably, both in steady-state operation and during acceleration or braking phases. Yet almost half the cost of a fuel cell system comes from its ancillary systems, notably air and cooling management, which have a major influence on the vehicle's efficiency and durability.

Fuel cell systems are a key component of a vehicle's energy management system.

Improper management of temperature, humidity or pressure can reduce performance and accelerate component ageing.

The ALTOS project aims to better design and optimize these key systems.

Relying on open-source modeling tools and experimental testing, ALTOS will develop reliable models of the air and cooling circuit, in order to improve the overall efficiency and robustness of hydrogen vehicles, particularly for multi-stack architectures.

Department(s) Partner(s) Overall amount
Mechanics

LHEEA (Ecole Centrale de Nantes, )
LIFSE (Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Métiers Paris)

630 k€
Main support Repayment Date(s)
ANR National 2025 - 2029

Keywords

fuel cell, thermal management, cooling, optimization, sizing, control, modeling, experimental measurements

Contact

Céline Morin