Toyota working with AMRC Cymru to optimize fuel cell assembly
25 April 2023
Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK has signed a deal with the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) Cymru to optimize hydrogen fuel cell assembly.
Advancements have been made to the Hydrogen Electric Propulsion Systems (HEPS) assembly testbed, based at AMRC Cymru in North Wales since work began in October 2022. The HEPS project aims to de-risk the assembly and production scale up of hydrogen fuel cells for the automotive, aerospace and rail industries.
The first iteration of the HEPS testbed consists of a reconfigurable floor, collaborative robots and other advanced Industry 4.0 technologies in a self-contained assembly area, making it ready for developing and de-risking innovative new methods of fuel cell assembly.
Building on a long-standing relationship, Toyota and the AMRC, part of the High value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult, are collaborating on a 12-month project where Toyota will use the HEPS testbed to assemble its hydrogen fuel cells in the North Wales facility, focusing on enabling fuel cell manufacturing in the UK. The Toyota project is funded by the Welsh Government’s Low Carbon Automotive Transformation Fund.
Toyota has been an active part of the industry steering board assembled by AMRC Cymru, which guides the work of the HEPS assembly testbed, to ensure the work being done is relevant to industry and addresses real-world manufacturing needs and challenges.
One of the recent developments in the project is the use of advanced gasket application equipment and an advanced visual metrology system to address an industrial challenge around fuel cell stack leakages. The visual metrology system stops leaks in the fuel cell by checking if the seals are applied correctly.
AMRC Cymru engineers have also worked on laser part-marking for fuel cell components.
Part-marking assigns a unique code to every component to help identify and track the components, providing a digital built record of the multiple components going into the fuel cell. Laser part-marking allows the system to stop the process if the wrong parts are used or are being inserted in the wrong way. It also enables in-process verification, allowing us to check if the right parts are being fixed in the fuel cell in the right way, assuring its in-built quality.
—Lee Wheeler, senior engineer and hydrogen/ future propulsion lead at AMRC Cymru
The AMRC Cymru team will explore how to de-risk, industrialize and scale-up the assembly of hydrogen fuel cells and electrolyzers by applying advanced manufacturing processes and the AMRC’s capabilities in automation, digital, in-process verification and design for manufacture.
Wheeler says that the HEPS assembly testbed ultimately aims to manufacture and assemble fuel cell/ electric powertrains in a low cost, standardized and sustainable way in a boost to the UK transport sector, helping it to get closer to its Net Zero ambition.
AMRC Cymru is a £20-million R&D facility that opened in 2019 to provide an open innovation Centre for manufacturers in Wales. Backed by the Welsh Government, AMRC Cymru is the first HVM Catapult centre in Wales. The High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult, of which the AMRC is one of seven centers across the UK, has funded the HEPS project which is specifically targeting seven industries: aerospace, energy generation, heavy automotive, off highway, public transport and rail.
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