From Research to a
Business Segment
and Beyond
he completion of the BALIS project in the first quarter
of 2024 is a major milestone for AVL. For the first time,
AVL will deliver a Fuel Cell System (FCS) test system
to the aviation industry. The origins of this project, which was
acquired by the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Systems segment,
trace back to the HIFAI (Highly Integrated Fuel Cell Analysis
Infrastructure) research project. At AVL, HIFAI was coordinat-
ed by Christoph Kügele, who at the time was working as a
technology scout in the Technology and Research department,
and Tomas Dehne, the chief engineer for Fuel Cell Testing
Technology.
The history of fuel cell development at AVL dates back even
further. The first steps were taken in the early 2000s with the
planning of testbeds in the Engineering division division along-
side fuel cell CFD simulations in the Advanced Simulations
Technology division.
The HIFAI project was initiated in 2014 with the goal of es-
tablishing a testing infrastructure for fuel cell systems at the
HyCentA site on the TU Graz campus. The official inauguration
of the project was in October 2016. This was followed by more
than 100 visitors to HyCentA, including OEMs, suppliers, uni-
versities, and many other organizations, to see AVL showcase
the first fuel cell system testbed. This was a pivotal moment,
as AVL expanded its product portfolio into the field of fuel cell
testing, introducing successful products such as AVL HyTron™
(winner of the AVL Instrumentation and Test Systems Innova-
tion award 2019).
First Customer Projects
By the time the research project was completed in 2019, AVL
had already been awarded customer projects. The number of
business opportunities generated in the electrification depart-
ment was a hundred times higher at that time. The obvious
demand for more expertise led to the creation of the Fuel
Cell and Hydrogen System segment. The initial team of six
was soon doubled in Graz and an additional team of fuel cell
experts was hired in Mainz-Kastel.
“HIFAI was one of the most successful research projects
for our Research and Technology segment. The project
perfectly combined the expertise of AVL and HyCentA to
build the world’s first dynamic fuel cell system testbed
and the prototype of a dynamic hydrogen measurement
system. Both prototypes have since been successfully
taken over by the AVL fuel cell product team and sold
on an industrial scale to several customers. HyCentA
also uses the high dynamic fuel cell system testbed in
various research and sold to several customers on an
industrial scale. This project has created a win-win situa-
tion for both partners.”
“AVL and HyCentA have been working together for many
years. We enjoy excellent cooperation in the field of mea-
surement and testing technologies as well as fuel cell
propulsion systems. With HIFAI, fuel cell development
has for the first time reached a level comparable to inter-
nal combustion engines, which offers unique opportuni-
ties. Unprecedented among competitors, AVL’s fuel cell
system testbed at HyCentA enables fuel cell systems to
be tested under realistic conditions, embedded in a virtu-
al environment and developed using state-of-the-art test
and measurement technology. This test system marks a
turning point in fuel cell development.”
Michael Paulweber
Senior Advisor AVL
Alexander Trattner,
CEO HyCentA
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