BALIS 2.0

The decarbonisation of global aviation requires major efforts and innovations, in which Germany can play a pioneering role. Revolutionary approaches are needed to meet the challenges of an emission-free multi-MW drive system in aviation with 40-80 passengers. In BALIS 2.0, the experience of the last 15 years in the field of emission-free aviation powertrains with hydrogen fuel cells will be combined and the existing challenges of a fuel cell powertrain for the MW range will be tackled. The work includes the commissioning of the ‘BALIS’ test infrastructure from the previous project. At the same time, the detailed challenges identified in previous projects with regard to power-to-weight ratio and DAL-A (Design Assurance Level A) control and regulation systems for subsequent aircraft integration are being addressed using an upscaling and optimisation approach. This includes component development, sub- and overall system design and verification test runs. As part of the project, the world’s first fuel cell-based MW drive train is to be put into operation in the ground-based demonstrator as the basis for multi-MW drives for aviation applications. The state of fuel cell system scaling is to be expanded and the level of maturity for use in aviation significantly increased. The aim is to develop a basic module in the 350kW power class that can be scaled up to represent a MW system with redundancy. An innovative, modular, high-performance and extremely reliable control and regulation technology should enable the individual drive modules to be coupled efficiently, thereby ensuring efficient scalability of the drive system. The project combines the expertise of the industrial partners H2Fly GmbH, Diehl Aerospace GmbH and the DLR research facility with the infrastructure of the ‘BALIS’ test field. The transfer of the results into the German research and industry landscape opens up sustainable exploitation perspectives to secure the technological advantage of German industry.

H2Fly leads the project group and is primarily responsible for developing the 350 kW fuel cell system.
DLR is experimentally investigating the stationary and dynamic behaviour of the coupled fuel cell modules and the electric motor, as well as the refuelling process and the supply of liquid hydrogen on the BALIS test stand.
Diehl Aerospace GmbH is primarily responsible for the drive system’s control and regulation technology.
Together, the subsystems are integrated on the BALIS test stand, put into operation, coupled to the overall drive system and the overall system behaviour is examined.

Project aims:

• Scientific examination of a fuel cell-based electrical drive system with MW output
• Test of a liquid hydrogen infrastructure for the direct provision of hydrogen for a MW fuel cell system
• Development of a highly integrated and weight-optimised 350kW energy generation system with aviation-compatible components
• Demonstration of the 350kW system as a basic module in a multi-megawatt system (up to 10MW)
• Development of a scalable, high-performance 350kW fuel cell system control unit with a tool suite for semi-automated platform configuration and autocoding functionality.