Webasto joins with Vaillant to develop fuel cells - News - Auto Industry

The German heating technology manufacturer Vaillant Group and automotive supplier Webasto have entered into an agreement in which the companies will jointly develop fuel cells for use in both vehicles and stationary applications.

Since 2002, Webasto has focused heavily on automotive on-board Auxiliary Power Units (APUs), in which electrical energy is produced from liquid fuels with the aid of a high-temperature fuel cell. Through advances with APUs, Webasto created a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell module (SOFC) which, fuelled by natural gas or heating oil, can be used for single-family home energy generation and heat supply and also has mobile applications.

Vaillant has worked on the development of fuel cell-powered heating systems for multi-family housing and light industrial applications since 1998 and has already tested prototypes in European field trials. Through this joint venture with Webasto, Vaillant is extending its fuel cell heating system development activities to single-family dwellings.

Webasto's role will be focused on the development of the SOFC's thermally insulated core module including the re-heater and reformer. The reformer converts natural gas into the hydrogen-rich gas needed for the fuel cell's functioning. Vaillant will be responsible for developing this core module and other system components into a fuel cell-powered heater and efficiently integrating the result into a single-family home's heating system.

(www.webasto.com)