2“Joint H 2 researchfosters innovation inaviation and maritime.”Prof. Dr.-Ing. Carlos JahnRoland Gerhards, CEO ZAL, (right) welcomesnew ZAL tenant: Prof. Carlos Jahn, Headof Fraunhofer Center for Maritime Logisticsand Services.
HYDROGEN RESEARCHAT ZAL: MARITIMEGETS ON BOARDIn the context of the H 2 AM (Hanseatic Hydrogen Centerfor Aviation and Maritime) funding initiative, the city ofHamburg has tasked its two leading sectors, aviation andmaritime, with developing and testing hydrogen- andfuel cell-based technologies under real-world conditions.The goal is to make a significant contribution to decarbonization.A great challenge – one that, the city hopes,can be met through the synergies of joint research.GERHARDS Hello, Professor Jahn, and welcome to ZAL Tech-Center! We are delighted that Fraunhofer CML has chosen ourfacility as the home for its Fuel Cell Integration Center laboratory– also known as FCIC – dedicated to the research and developmentof fuel cell systems for maritime applications.JAHN Thank you, our scientists are also looking forward tobright and spacious facilities as well as the opportunity to operateour fuel cell in your well-equipped environment andstart our work at our new location.GERHARDS Would you please introduce Fraunhofer CML toour aviation partners. What are your focus areas?JAHN ”Innovating the Maritime Sector” is the guiding principleat Fraunhofer Center for Maritime Logistics and Services, CMLin short. True to this mission, the Hamburg research institutioncontributes to improving sustainability and process efficiencyin maritime operations, port handling and service conceptsthrough AI applications. New solutions for autonomous systemsas well as the digitalization of navigation and communicationfurther enhance the safety and ease of maritime traffic.GERHARDS CML has a modern new research facility in Hamburg-Harburg.How do you justify the move to ZAL to yourown industry peers and beyond?drogen, a new research field for Fraunhofer CML. You haveappropriately equipped laboratories at ZAL TechCenter, allowingus to benefit from the existing infrastructure, whichgives us a time advantage in achieving our research goals.But besides the existing hardware, there are also substantivereasons to seek proximity to aviation. We face similarchallenges.GERHARDS That’s true, infrastructure, refueling, high demandsfor reliability and safety along with climate conditions are topicsthat affect both of our industries and bring us together.What topics will you be giving priority to in the new lab?JAHN In the new Fuel Cell Integration Center, our researcherswill investigate the use of fuel cell technology in the maritimesector and co-develop the necessary solutions. As in aviation,special requirements are a priority on board a ship, albeit differentones. Ship movements, temperature fluctuations, highUV radiation, humidity and corrosive conditions place highdemands on the materials used.GERHARDS Yes, environmental effects on materials and systemsare challenges for us as well. How do fuel cells performunder different air pressures, and how do various materialsbehave at -253 degrees Celsius, the temperature of liquid hydrogen?To explore these questions, we will be implementingan altitude chamber and a cryo chamber at ZAL.JAHN Exciting. We look forward to exchanging ideas on theseand other topics. The ZAL network represents a significantadded value for us in this context: innovative companies thattake on new challenges as well as researchers solvingcomparable tasks present an opportunity for us to expandthe boundaries of knowledge with new clients and researchpartners.3JAHN We are taking up the lab spaces as part of H 2 AM: to advancedecarbonization, the maritime sector must turn to hy-GERHARDS I completely agree – our strength lies in collaborativeresearch.
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