For the test, a Ballard FCmove-HD fuel cell was paired with a Chart liquid onboard hydrogen (HLH2) vehicle fuel system. The test was conducted at Chart’s hydrogen test facility in Minnesota, USA.
The demonstration confirms that heavy-duty vehicles, such as trains, powered by Ballard fuel cells will be able to employ Chart HLH2 vehicle fuel systems that utilize liquid hydrogen as a fuel.
Liquid hydrogen has a significant space, weight and range advantage compared with gaseous hydrogen, allowing for up to double the range without space claim and payload impacts, and simplified fueling infrastructure for heavy-duty mobility applications such as rail.
This recent work builds upon Chart’s previous fill, hold, and vaporization testing of the Chart HLH2 vehicle fuel system, and long-established credentials in LNG service for vehicle fuel systems.
Building upon this success will be to identify applications in which liquid hydrogen has the potential to unlock long distance opportunities. Chart and Ballard will now work to identify a potential demonstrator for liquid hydrogen road testing over the coming months.
Last month, Ballard announced that it had received an order from Canadian Pacific (CP) for an additional eight 200 kW fuel cell modules to support the railway’s expansion of its Hydrogen Locomotive Program from one to three locomotives.