HOPIUM reaches a decisive milestone in the development of its fuel cell system
Integration of the optimized 100 kW stack into the Hopium system
Paris, September 26, 2024 at 8:30 a.m. – HOPIUM (FR0014000U63 – ALHPI), the cleantech company that aims to decarbonize heavy transport, announces that it has integrated the optimized version of its 100 kW fuel cell [1] into the complete control system entirely developed by its R&D teams. As a reminder, Hopium has succeeded in optimizing the mass of its 100 kW cell by reducing it to below 25 kg [2] , while maintaining the same performance as that validated last July during bench tests [3] .
By choosing to design and master all technological aspects in-house, Hopium has been able to push the boundaries of what is possible. From the design of its fuel cell (stack) to its integration into the system, including the development of digital twins, test benches and the control-command system, each step has been carried out with uncompromising precision and rigor.
Total control and innovation at the heart of the process
During this new stage, the 100 kW stack, lightened and optimized, was placed in its envelope and then tested on the test benches entirely designed and developed in-house. The system in which the stack was successfully integrated includes the control-command which is the embedded intelligence of the system allowing to control all the actuators (compressor, pumps, valves, etc.) and to monitor all the sensors. This central element ensures the performance, reliability and safety of the system. Hopium has chosen to design its own control cards (software and hardware), thus guaranteeing perfect compatibility and optimal efficiency for total control of the system.
The implementation of the stack in the system was carried out with exemplary fluidity from the first days of September, proof of the expertise and mastery of all the parameters by the Hopium teams. For this operation, the use of digital models, true digital twins of the Hopium system, was decisive in adjusting each parameter of the lean stack. These simulations, carried out upstream, made it possible to validate each step of the integration process and ensure immediate success.
Thanks to this “made in Hopium” approach to the entire technological chain, the company has achieved results beyond its expectations, proving its capacity to innovate, the solidity of its vision and the quality of the work carried out by its R&D teams since its inception.
Building on these successes, Hopium is now focusing on the next step, the complete integration of its system into the demonstrator, namely the Machina, for the real-world road tests in October, a key milestone towards the commercialization of its fuel cell from the beginning of 2025.
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HOPIUM reaches a decisive milestone in the development of its fuel cell system, source
