Garrett Motion Earns Innovation Award for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Compressor Technology in China
Garrett’s newest generation hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) air compressor has won a prestigious innovation award at the 2023 International Automotive Technology Congress in China.
The technology, featuring a turbine expander that reduces hydrogen consumption and increases range, earned the Automotive Innovation Technology Award, supported by specialist auto industry media organizations Vogel Business Media and Automobil Industrie.
Garrett’s latest modular high-pressure ratio electric compressor architecture is more than 30% smaller than the predecessor design yet delivers the same fuel cell stack output in a quieter, more efficient package, thanks to a 50% increase in rotational speeds compared to previous generations. Incorporating the optional high-pressure turbine expander can lead to a reduction of electric power usage by up to 20%, decreasing hydrogen consumption and extending the range.
The outcome is a hydrogen fuel cell electric compressor that delivers high mass power density performance, while offering greater reliability and durability compared to similar technologies.
Qian Yunzhao, Garrett China Fuel Cell Compressor Business Leader, said: “We are thrilled that our second-generation hydrogen fuel cell air compressor with its turbine expander, developed by Garrett’s China team, has won the Innovation Technology Award.
“Hydrogen fuel cells have been recognized as an essential building block for achieving zero emissions in the automotive industry. Garrett’s electric air compressors, with constant iteration and continuous performance and cost optimization, are key contributors to this goal by boosting the wider application of hydrogen technology in passenger cars, commercial vehicles and other automotive sectors.”
Garrett’s air compressors for FCEVs fuse leading-edge aerospace and automotive technologies, with engineers exploiting the company’s turbo aerodynamics expertise to achieve rotational speeds beyond 150,000 rpm. The design also employs state-of-the-art patented airfoil bearings to eliminate the risk of fuel cell stack degradation due to oil contamination, while delivering class-leading durability of more than 1 million start-and-stop cycles over 25,000 hours of life.
Yves Tang, Garrett China’s fuel cell platform team leader, accepted the award on behalf of the organization.
About the Automotive Innovation Technology Award
Focusing on automotive core technology innovation and promoting international and domestic technology cooperation is the purpose and significance of the “Automotive Innovation Technology Awards”, held by the Automobil Industrie Platform, in cooperation with top domestic and international industry organizations and technology experts.
This is the sixth consecutive year for the Automobil Industrie Media Platform to organize the “Automotive Innovation Technology Award”, and this year’s award continues to setup the “Technology Innovation Award” and adds the “‘Dual Carbon’ Benchmarking Enterprise Award” in line with the global development trend. The “Technology Innovation Award” covers the fields of new energy, intelligent Internet connection and cutting-edge parts and components technology, while the “Dual Carbon Benchmarking Enterprise Awards” focus on recognizing industry leaders who have made outstanding contributions to low-carbon product development and sustainable development.
With over 80 entries, the competition for the 2023 Automotive Innovation Technology Award remains fierce. After careful screening by Automobil Industrie’s editors in China and Germany, rigorous evaluation by domestic and international automotive technology experts, and online voting by a wide range of automotive professionals in the last few months, 32 technologies and products were finally awarded the “Technology Innovation Award”, and 7 companies won the “Double Carbon Benchmarking Enterprise Award”.
