High powEr density FC System for Aerial Passenger VEhicle fueled by liquid HydrogeN

The main goal of HEAVEN project is to design, develop and integrate a powertrain based on high power fuel cell and
cryogenic technology into an existing 2-4 seats aircraft for testing in flight operation. Specifically, the project proposes to
design a modular architecture with modular systems that can be scale-up to other sizes of aircrafts and UAV applications.
The design methodology is complemented with safety and regulation analysis. Regarding the fuel cell technology, two high
power PEM fuel cell systems of 45 kW based on metallic bipolar plates will be adapted for aircraft applications and
integrated with optimized balance of plant components to obtain an enhanced 90kW fuel cell system able to propel without
support of a battery the aircraft operating modes. The hydrogen storage will be based on cryogenic technology successfully
applied in previous space applications in order to achieve a gravimetric index of about 15% for a hydrogen payload between
10 and 25 kg that provide a autonomy range to the demonstrator of 8 hours. Moreover, HEAVEN project will leverage
existing drivetrain components and an aircraft demonstrator in order to achieve an overall and successful TRL6 at the end of
the project. The technology developments will be enriched with economic and business assessments during the execution of
the project. Thus, HEAVEN will produce estimations of a total cost of ownership for the entire life cycle of the technology and
business plan for the deployment of the technology in different aeronautics applications.
Finally, HEAVEN consortium comprises large companies, SMEs and well-known research center with a strong experience
and knowledge in fuel cell technology development for aeronautic applications that is supported with the participation in
previous relevant H2020 projects and national projects.