In order to provide emission-free and resource-saving mobility, drive systems are increasingly being electrified, leading to a diversification of powertrain technologies. The extension of the battery electric drive system by a fuel cell is intended to compensate the disadvantages, especially with regard to range and charging times. The degree of hybridization - which is the ratio of fuel cell to battery - ranges from the integration of small fuel cells in the sense of a range extender to large fuel cells that only require a small battery as intermediate storage medium. Like the battery, the fuel cell does not yet represent a cost-effective solution. When analyzing existing fuel cell drive systems on the market, it can be seen that the drive systems are not very modularized so far. For example, the division of the tank volume in passenger cars follows boundary conditions resulting from the integration. The authors therefore devote themselves to the creation of modularization concepts and see this as an adjustment screw for the creation of customer-perceptible product features and for the reduction of manufacturing costs. The modularization approach focuses on the use of a fuel cell system or individual fuel cell modules for different applications: The customer purchases a vehicle equipped with such a modularized system. The solution allows the customer to expand or reduce the size of the fuel cell system and the associated energy storage system in his vehicle over the course of its usage. In addition, he can also use individual modules from the vehicle for applications in his leisure time, such as the stationary power supply of a caravan or tools. Another scenario is the provision of a module or the entire system for emergency power requirements or civil rescue applications. From this, in addition to the questions of mechanical modularization of the fuel cell, direct requirements for tank, auxiliary units and control system are derived. In a first step, the requirements resulting from the coupling of cross-system scenarios are determined. The paper then focuses on the mechanical design and considers the aspects of optimal use of installation space, mechanical interface design between the modules as well as vehicle integration, strength and stiffness requirements and production-related constraints.

Konstantin Nowoseltschenko, IPEK - Institut für Produktentwicklung, GERMANY Philip Müller-Welt, IPEK - Institut für Produktentwicklung, GERMANY Dipl.-Ing. Katharina Bause, IPEK - Institut für Produktentwicklung, GERMANY Prof. Dr.-Ing. Albert Albers, IPEK - Institut für Produktentwicklung, GERMANY