HyFab is to be an open industry platform to look into automated production and quality assurance processes, factory acceptance testing and the commissioning of fuel-cell stacks
The HyFaB is the only facility of its kind in Germany and it is expected to be up and running in early 2022. It was also conceived as a training centre to qualify skilled workers and learn more about industrial applications.
“HyFaB is open to partners. The automotive industry, fuel-cell vendors, and mechanical and plant engineering companies are very welcome,” ZSW said in a media release. “Fuel cells are still made largely by hand rather on industrial assembly lines. The HyFaB research factory is going to steer and accelerate the transition from small-scale to mass manufacturing.”
The brief also explains that the facility will focus on scalable component production processes that are suitable for assembly lines and on fuel-cell stack manufacturing processes.
Besides having the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems in Freiburg as a partner in science, the HyFaB received 10.5 million euros in funding from the state of Baden-Württemberg, where Ulm is located.
