UK-based Revolve Technologies has developed a new fuel cell technology using a printed circuit board (PCB) construction. The company says its PCB fuel cell stack will lower system costs, deliver reduced weight for a given power output and provide a more flexible form factor, compared with current systems.

Revolve’s fuel cell range extender module is designed as an aftermarket kit for commercial EVs.

The company displayed a Renault Kangoo ZE van with a 5 kW PCB fuel cell range extender at the recent Cenex Low Carbon Vehicle event in the UK. According to Revolve, the PCBFC delivers additional range of around 80 miles (on the NEDC cycle) with 1.7 kg of hydrogen on board. Fitting additional hydrogen storage capacity can further extend range.

On the demo model, the fuel cell, control system and electronics are integrated on the vehicle roof under a covered enclosure. The hydrogen storage tank is currently in the loading bay, although a future development could see the tank relocated to the roof.

Revolve worked with several partners on this project – Bramble Energy was responsible for fuel cell development and manufacture, UCL provided fuel cell testing and manufacturing support, STI developed and manufactured the electronics, and consultancy HSSMI worked on manufacturing upscaling.

Source: Revolve Technologies