ADVENT FUEL CELLS
DIGI-TRONIC
The
High-Temperature Fuel Cell system on the horizon
DIGI-TRONIC is Advent Technologies’ newest fuel cell power platform solution. It is aimed at replacing polluting diesel generators and internal combustion engines with a green and reliable solution.
The unique characteristics of Advent’s low cost, resilient HT-PEM fuel cells are superior to the LT-PEM fuel cells that are available on the market today.
The DIGI-TRONIC fuel cell system runs with Advent’s proprietary next-generation MEA technology, allowing for a higher power density and reduced system weight, therefore being well suited for the transportation sector.
Advent’s HT-PEM MEA is:
- Not water based – This allows Advent’s MEA to operate at 80ºC to 240ºC, allowing for superior thermal management and high efficiency of 45-60%.
- Resilient in extreme environments – Advent’s MEA allows DIGI-TRONIC to operate within ambient temperatures in the range of -38ºC to 58ºC and in extremely humid or dry conditions, therefore avoiding drying out or freezing.
- Flexible with multi-fuel capability – Advent’s MEA can generate power from renewable fuels instead of pure hydrogen as needed by LT-PEM competitors.
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES
DIGI-TRONIC
Multi-Fuel
DIGI-TRONIC is a hydrogen-based fuel cell system that can use compressed green hydrogen, low-purity hydrogen (blue or LOHC), methanol (with focus on biomethanol and e-methanol as the fuels of choice), renewable natural gas, and future eFuels.
In other words, at Advent we can deploy at scale today, avoiding the wait for a capital-intensive green hydrogen infrastructure to become available.
DIGI-TRONIC
Not Water Based
Advent’s membrane technology is not water based, meaning that it does not rely on water for conductivity. This allows it to operate in a higher operational temperature range from 80oC to 200oC without impeding conductivity. Conductivity issues occur in water-based membranes because water evaporates or boils in this temperature range. Advent’s next generation HT-PEM technology will be based on ion-pair membranes which will allow the system to operate at temperatures of up to 240o C.
DIGI-TRONIC
Resilience
DIGI-TRONIC operates at ambient temperatures of -38ºC to 58ºC and in extremely humid or dry conditions.
The DIGI-TRONIC system is also resilient to most input impurities such as hydrogen impurities and air impurities that would poison most PEM fuel cells. Its MEA does not dry out in the desert, nor freeze in the arctic.
DIGI-TRONIC
Superior Heat Management
DIGI-TRONIC offers the superior thermal management required by transportation industry applications, because of the high-temperature (80ºC to 240ºC) operation of Advent’s proprietary HT-PEM MEA.
The DIGI-TRONIC system eliminates the need for large radiators and complex workaround solutions currently required by typical LT-PEM fuel cells, and allows for extended operation at peak power in high ambient temperatures.
DIGI-TRONIC
Lightweight – Simplicity
DIGI-TRONIC has superior weight advantages against most other solutions, as it does not need a large cooling system, water management subsystems, or fuel storage.
DIGI-TRONIC
Design Modularity
DIGI-TRONIC was developed with an architecture ultimately scalable from 50W to 1MW with the same modular design.
DIGI-TRONIC
Redundancy
DIGI-TRONIC has a patented thermal management and control design that is self-healing, providing optimal cell performance. This allows for a longer lifetime and lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
DIGI-TRONIC
High Voltage
High-voltage (up to 400V per 15kW fuel cell unit) low current operation is ideal for transportation applications and facilitates reliable power at scale.
DIGI-TRONIC
TCO
Simplicity and compact design enable a lower CAPEX (compared to LT-PEM competitors). Additionally, resilience to extreme temperatures, pollution, and humidity leads to a longer lifetime and therefore a lower OPEX (compared to LT-PEM competitors).
