MAHLE develops technologies for clean shipping

MAHLE technology group unveiled its thermal management solutions for fuel cell peripherals used in all electrically-driven vessels.

Using hydrogen produced in a climate-neutral manner, they can operate with zero emissions. Thanks to over ten years of experience as a series supplier for fuel cell technology used on the roads, MAHLE can quickly adapt these technologies for marine applications.

In particular, thermal management, i.e. the cooling of the sensitive and expensive fuel cell, requires a profound understanding of this technology and the necessary expertise to realise such complex cooling concepts. The company’s experience in thermal, air and liquid management, as well as mechatronics and electronics, is combined in its in-house hydrogen test centre in Stuttgart.

A prerequisite for the broad application of fuel cell technology is the ample availability of cleanly-produced hydrogen. MAHLE joined the Hydrogen Council in 2020, a worldwide initiative of leading industrial companies involved in energy and transport that seeks to establish hydrogen as an essential element of the global energy transition.

The German-based technology group brings the necessary core competencies for the development and industrialisation of custom-designed solutions acquired throughout its more than 100 years of history.

MAHLE not only represents fuel cell technologies for passenger cars and commercial vehicles but also works on using hydrogen in stationary applications, for example, in energy supply and as fuel for combustion engines.

Markus Hübsch, Director at MAHLE, said, “Vessels driven with this technology are not only cleaner, but they also operate more quietly and with less vibration than ships driven by diesel and heavy fuel oil.”