WMG centre HVM Catapult is pleased to announce that a consortium led by London-based fuel cell company, Arcola Energy, has been awarded £1m R&D funding from the recent TSB call on Fuel Cell Manufacturing. Arcola Energy, the lead partner on the bid, is working within the UK to build up a strong fuel cell supply chain and manufacturing base. They are focussed on portable and small scale automotive applications. Other partners in the consortium are Imperial College and Lohmann Tapes.

Professor Robert Harrison’s team at WMG will focus on the application of manufacturing process modelling to fuel cells. The work will leverage WMG’s extensive in-house battery manufacturing and automation systems knowledge. It is anticipated that current fuel cell lifetime limitations and high unit costs that result from immature manufacturing processes will be addressed through this research by the application of automated processes and improved quality control.

The project will also work on developing a UK supply chain to support UK manufacturing of fuel cells. Professor Jan Godsell’s team at WMG will be involved in this activity.

Interest in fuel cell technology is increasing steadily from sectors such as automotive and stationary power. It is expected that growing demand will drive up production volumes by two orders of magnitude over the next five years, further reducing costs.