Aachen-based mobility company, AE Driven Solutions (AEDS) has awarded EKPO an exclusive, multi-year contract to supply NM5-evo fuel cell stacks.
EKPO Fuel Cell Technologies is the joint venture between ElringKlinger (60%) and Plastic Omnium (40%).
The order covers a planned volume in the high double-digit million Euro range. The stacks are designed to meet AEDS’s key criteria of performance, durability and smooth operation and are to be fitted to delivery vehicles as part of the company’s system integration efforts, the aim being to offer environmentally friendly drive technology in urban spaces.
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Series production of the stacks is scheduled to commence in the first half of 2022. The NM5-evo stack is the newest addition to EKPO’s stack portfolio.
Alongside high-power density of up to 4.6 kW/l in the cell block, in addition to the comparatively low weight, this includes a high-power spectrum of up to 76 kW in pressure mode.
The Aachen-based company equips vehicles for inner-city transport with eco-friendly fuel cell systems. Following the development of the Streetscooter as a battery-powered delivery vehicle by the company’s core team and its launch as a series application, AEDS is now using its experience to deploy fuel-cell-powered vehicles in conjunction with new mobility concepts in urban regions.
In addition to CEO, Tobias Reil, a former member of the executive board and head of production at Streetscooter, the AEDS team includes shareholders, Achim Kampker, one of the founders of Streetscooter and Stefanie and Alexander Peters, managing partners of the Neuman & Esser Group, which covers the value chain from the generation, compression, production and storage of hydrogen as well as green gases.
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By GlobalDataIn collaboration with other companies and institutions such as TÜV Rheinland, the PEM Group and RWTH Aachen University, a next-generation mobility cluster centred around battery and hydrogen technologies is currently being created at the AEDS site in Aachen.
In the field of mobility, the advantages of hydrogen come to the fore wherever idle time is costly. In addition to long-distance transport, this applies above all to the area of last-mile delivery, that is, applications with a long range or cyclical operation.
Areas of use for vehicles include commercial and delivery vehicles as well as buses, but also industrial applications in the mobile sector such as special vehicles and materials handling equipment. In addition, hydrogen-based fuel cell drives are suitable for trains, ships, or aircraft.
Through its parent company ElringKlinger, EKPO has been pursuing fuel cell research and development for around 20 years. The compact stacks are based on proton-exchange membrane (PEM) technology and convert chemical into electrical energy using hydrogen and oxygen.
EKPO offers stacks in various configurations for integration into customer systems. Stacks with peripheral components and system functionalities integrated into the media module are also available as an option. These features enable simplification and cost reduction with regard to the fuel cell system.
Drawing on the system solutions of its parent company Plastic Omnium, EKPO can cover the value chain of a hydrogen-based fuel cell drive.
EKPO has an initial production capacity of up to 10,000 stacks per year, which will be gradually expanded in line with its order intake
