(Herzogenaurach) – The automotive and industrial supplier Schaeffler AG wants to develop a fuel cell that works with a liquid organic hydrogen carrier together with Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies GmbH and the Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nuremberg for Renewable Energies (HIERN). 
The direct use of the technology called LOHC (Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier) in fuel cells to generate electricity makes the handling of hydrogen as a gas unnecessary and allows a particularly cheap and safe supply of mobile and stationary energy consumers, says Hydrogenious boss Daniel Teichmann.
Use hydrogen at normal temperatures
Hydrogen is usually stored and transported in special containers in gaseous form at high pressure or in liquid form at extremely subzero temperatures. Liquid-organic hydrogen carriers offer an alternative. The Hydrogenious process uses benzyltoluene, an oil-like, organic substance that chemically binds hydrogen. This can be transported under normal environmental conditions.
There is no molecular hydrogen in a LOHC fuel cell or in the supply chain. The carrier material can be used multiple times and allows for a safe and cost-effective hydrogen infrastructure, says Tim Hosenfeldt, Head of Research & Innovation and Central Technologies at Schaeffler AG: “We see the use of LOHC in fuel cells as complementary to classic hydrogen technologies.”
Schaeffler, together with the Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nuremberg, is developing the technology for the direct use of hydrogen bound in the LOHC. For this purpose, adaptations would have to be made in the design of the fuel cells, according to a statement. Schaeffler manufactures the bipolar plates, and the catalysts and membranes necessary for this technology are developed at the Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nuremberg.
Photo above
Together with two partners, Schaeffler is developing a fuel cell that enables operation with hydrogen bound in the LOHC. © Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG
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Uwe Wagner (center), Head of Research and Development at Schaeffler AG, Daniel Teichmann (left), CEO and founder of Hydrogenious, Peter Wasserscheid (right), Director at the Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nuremberg for Renewable Energies. © Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG
