Reinventing the wheel: Innovative storage and drive solution for agricultural and construction machinery

Hydrogen will play a central role in the drive technology of agricultural and construction machinery in the future - both in mobile machines with hydrogen combustion engines and in vehicles with fuel cells. A key prerequisite for practical use is the ability to store the amount of energy required for the intended purpose directly in the vehicle.

We have developed a new storage principle for this: the gaseous storage of hydrogen in the vehicle wheel. This concept uses the installation space of the wheel to significantly increase the energy transport. The aim was to enable a diesel-equivalent range - so that, for example, a hydrogen-powered tractor remains operational for an entire working day without refueling.

For electric fuel cell vehicles, we are also presenting a combined solution consisting of H₂ wheel storage and a newly developed, robust electric wheel drive. This system integration enables both an efficient energy supply and a space-saving and modular vehicle architecture.

The advantages:

• Enabling sustainable drive technology in agricultural and construction machinery with increased H₂ storage capacity for longer operating times
• Rethinking installation space: Integration of the storage unit into the wheel creates previously unused capacity and allows new overall vehicle concepts
• Reluctance engine: without rare earths, sustainable and robust
• CO₂ reduction to meet global sustainability targets
• Transferability to other types of commercial vehicles and special vehicles

By using this technology, we are meeting the main challenge of hydrogen mobility in the off-highway sector: maximum operating time with optimum utilization of the vehicle's installation space.

The concept is being developed by us together with local partners in the RAHD (Rad storage and A drive function solution for Heavy-Duty vehicles) funding project, supported by the Sächsische Aufbaubank and the European Union.

We are open to cooperation with vehicle manufacturers and are keen to test and further develop the new technology in a practical environment. Please feel free to contact us!