The Inventors of the Year 2021 program honors particularly outstanding researchers and developers whose innovations have significantly contributed to the company’s success while benefiting society. Recognition is given in five categories: Newcomers, Open Innovation, Outstanding Invention, Lifetime Achievement and Design and User Experience.
Alongside Deutsche Bahn, Siemens Mobility is working toward making hydrogen usable as an energy supplier for multiple units. The trains will be equipped with fuel cells for this purpose. The ultimate aim is to replace diesel-powered trains, which run on nearly half of the railroad lines in Europe.
“I am convinced that green hydrogen offers a lot of potential to reduce our emissions from transport and meet our climate goals. In a project with Deutsche Bahn (DB), we will be equipping a Mireo train with fuel cells from January 2022. We are testing a completely new overall system consisting of a hydrogen-powered train and a newly designed filling station,” said Peymandar.
As a design manager, Peymandar is responsible for testing, acceptance, and integration of the fuel cell system on the vehicle. During the development of the prototype for the project with DB, Peymandar developed and patented an idea in which the bipolar plates of a fuel cell are mounted in such a way that the circulating air cools them while the train is moving.
“The air is suppled from the train’s surroundings via an air duct,” explained Peymandar in Siemens Mobility’s coverage of the Inventors of the Year program. “This approach would have a stunning effect: it would make the fuel cell more efficient, cheaper and ultimately greener as we would have to spend less energy on cooling.” It could even eliminate the cooling pump, noted Peymandar.