Modelling and Analysis of a Low Temperature PEM fuel cell for electrified aviation.

Kurzfassung

Air transport has a significant environmental impact, contributing to excessive noise, emissions of harmful pollutants, and carbon dioxide. In response, the European Union’s Flightpath 2050 sets ambitious climate action targets. Reaching these goals will require major technological breakthroughs, particularly in aircraft design and propulsion, such as battery or hybrid-electric systems. In support of this, the Institute of Electrified Aero Engines of the German Aerospace Center is researching hybrid-electric propulsion, including hydrogen fuel cells, to substantially reduce emissions and advance electrified aviation technologies. Hydrogen-powered propulsion, especially fuel cells, offers promising potential for achieving zero-carbon aviation by generating electricity through the combination of hydrogen and oxygen, producing no emissions. However, significant advancements are still needed to make fuel cells viable for widespread aviation use. This thesis tackles these challenges by creating a numerical model to evaluate various fuel cell designs. Using ANSYS Fluent for the simulations, numerical results are compared to experimental data to determine the accuracy and reliability of the model. Then, the same methodology is used to explore a new high-voltage fuel cell concept and assess its potential advantages over conventional designs.