Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST
Inner coating of a hydrogen tank.
Hydrogen and fuel cell systems
Sustainable energy carrier – hydrogen and its importance for decarbonization
Alongside battery-electric energy storage, hydrogen represents a promising way of storing green electricity and harnessing it for mobility, the economy and private households. Due to the diverse potential applications and the potential use of available transport and storage infrastructure, hydrogen can contribute significantly to the decarbonization of German industry.
Green hydrogen economy
To establish a sustainably operating hydrogen economy, it is essential to have detailed knowledge of the entire value chain from production through to storage, distribution and utilization. The range of services offered by IST includes both the development of materials and processes for electrolysers, hydrogen storage and fuel cells and the planning of the entire energy conversion chain. This involves modeling technical interrelationships and evaluating economic and ecological consequences.
Multiple opportunities for collaboration
With its wide-ranging in-house expertise and an infrastructure oriented towards industry, Fraunhofer IST is able to respond to the requirements and requests of customers from various sectors in the area of hydrogen and fuel cell systems. We are happy to provide you with support and would be pleased to hear from you.
Automated process chains for circular production
To increase the sustainability of energy storage devices and converters, material cycles must be closed using production-engineering approaches. Circular production must therefore start at the system level, and process chains must be designed to keep materials efficiently within the cycle. In this context, we work together with our partners to develop automation solutions and process chains for sustainable components and systems in the field of energy storage and converters. The application spectrum ranges from storage technologies for hydrogen, components of fuel-cell systems and balance-of-plant components all the way to battery systems.
”By converting conventional production processes into automated process chains, resource requirements can be significantly reduced, thereby leading to an increase in sustainability.”
Christoph Imdahl, M.Sc. / Group Manager