e-troFit unveils projects on fuel cell technology. Vehicles ready by 2024

e-troFit will be offering its first production-ready buses and trucks based on fuel cell technology on the road as early as 2024, CTO Matthias Kerler says. For longer ranges in coaches and heavy-duty transport with available hydrogen infrastructure, e-troFit intends to offer a hybrid powertrain primarily based on hydrogen as an energy carrier in the future. The battery is used here only to support high drive power, for operation of the fuel cell at optimum efficiency and for the recuperation of braking energy.

To the extent of increasing the activities in the fuel cell segment, Dominic Patzelt has been appointed new hydrogen project manager at e-troFit GmbH. He has been working as Hydrogen Project Manager at e-troFit GmbH since July 2021. An important part of his area of responsibility is the planning and implementation of specific projects that, in cooperation with technology partners and suppliers, adapt fuel cell technology to buses and trucks in various forms of application.

e-troFit and fuel cell buses

«With this newly created position, e-troFit, as a technology leader for electric drive systems in the commercial vehicle sector, is once again underlining its openness to technology and consistently continuing its hydrogen product development», the company says.

Dominic Patzelt says: «e-troFit is the first digital OEM to develop and distribute high-quality electrification solutions for used and new commercial vehicles. The retrofitting or second-life idea inspires me with its unbeatable sustainability. And buses and trucks will also be the first movers in the hydrogen mobility segment. I strongly believe that hydrogen will make a valuable contribution to decarbonization and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, especially in the mobility sector. That’s why I’m very pleased to be able to contribute my knowledge and experience to the development of innovative electric drive systems at e-troFit and thus actively shape the emission-free mobility of the future».

«Fuel cells will play an important role at e-troFit for the development of specific solutions in the commercial vehicle sector in the future – says Dr. Matthias Kerler, Chief Technology Officer at e-troFit GmbH, explaining the strategy in the area of research and product development. – Our plan is to have the first production-ready buses and trucks based on fuel cell technology on the road as early as 2024. One focus of our development is battery-powered electric vehicles with fuel cell range extenders. With this solution, the drive power and large parts of the range are provided by the battery, with all its advantages in terms of energy efficiency and total cost of ownership. A fully variable scaling between the power of the installed fuel cell stacks and installed battery capacity is possible depending on the application scenario involved in order to increase the range using hydrogen as required.”