The Centre for Advanced Low Carbon Propulsion Systems (C-ALPS) at Coventry University will play a “significant role” in the EU’s €7.3m CoacHyfied project that is to investigate hydrogen fuel cell-electric power in coaches.
C-ALPS will be responsible for the advanced thermal management system that will look to increase hydrogen fuel efficiency in what it describes as “novel ways,” including the harnessing of waste heat from the fuel cell to power saloon air-conditioning.
Coventry University’s C-ALPS is one of 14 partners in CoacHyfied, which is led by higher education and engineering organisations. It is currently investing £2m in a “world class” hydrogen fuel cell development centre in Coventry.
CoacHyfied was first announced in March. It will examine the use of hydrogen fuel cell power in two types of coaches – new vehicles and for retrofit into existing models – with the latter aiming to provide a second life use for those coaches. Six hydrogen-powered coaches will be operated in France and Latvia in two- to three-year demonstration phases.
Says C-ALPS Associate Professor in Electrochemical Power Sources Dr Oliver Curnick: “We are delighted to be part of CoacHyfied and to be able to broaden the international knowledge of hydrogen propulsion. It is anticipated that the findings of the project will be of benefit to coach manufacturers as well as future transport operators, who will need to find innovative solutions to support clean mass transport in the future.”
Dr Curnick adds that diesel-powered coaches generate up to 1,000g of CO2 per kilometre. “We will seek to address the widely-accepted gap in research activity into hydrogen-fuelled coaches both domestically and in Europe. There is also the additional aim of giving a second life to diesel vehicles that would otherwise have been scrapped in the move to zero emissions, by converting older coaches from diesel to hydrogen.”
C-ALPS is part of the Institute for Future Transport and Cities. It currently offers access to automotive format battery cell prototype manufacture, battery cell and module testing and characterisation, system modelling, in-situ sensing and advanced diagnostic and expertise in next generation power electronic devices and sensors.
More information on CoacHyfied here.
