The Hanover Hydrogen Expo kicks off today and amongst this years exhibits are a range of robots with green credentials.
Together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Intelligent Analysis and Information Systems (IAIS), the Fraunhofer for Solar Energy Systems ISE has developed an electrical power supply for robots, which is based on fuel cells. These and other developments from the business area $quot;Hydrogen Technology$quot; at Fraunhofer ISE are being presented at the Hanover Trade Fair from 16-20 April.
Powerful portable electricity supply systems in the range of several hundred watts are essential for the development of service robots. Today, rechargeable battery technologies cannot meet the energy demand of such applications in a satisfying way. Two Fraunhofer Institutes present a new solution: Fraunhofer ISE developed a hydrogen-based 350 Wel fuel cell for a robot platform which was designed by Fraunhofer IAIS. Achieving an energy efficient operation as well as an optimized thermal management were the main factors here.
Grid-independent electricity supplies with long operating times are not only required for the field of service robotics, but also for telecommunication systems, signal systems, measurement stations as well as small electric vehicles. Fraunhofer ISE develops compact and automated fuel cell systems with a nominal power range between10 Wel and ca. 500 Wel. The researchers in Freiburg focus on membrane fuel cells for operation with hydrogen, reformate gas, chemical hydrides, methanol or ethanol. The stack concept, developed at Fraunhofer ISE, ensures reliable operation even for long lifetimes. The system technology permits a flexible integration for a variety of different applications.
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