Rheinmetall AG won a new order worth a figure in the lower two-digit million-euro range for cathode flaps and shut-off valves from one of Europe’s largest and most influential specialists for fuel cell applications in the heavy transport sector.

Cathode flap

In total, the Group has already won six series customers for cathode flaps, increasing the 2023 booked business in this product area to around €50 million. In total, around €200 million has already been booked for all fuel cell components this year.

Rheinmetall sees this latest order success as confirmation of its decision systematically to develop the high market potential of hydrogen components with the newly established Hydrogen Products and Technology business unit within the Sensors and Actuators division.

In all, the customer has ordered several hundred thousand flaps, with three flaps installed per stack. These are series production parts; spare parts will be supplied later as needed. The cathode flaps can be utilized universally. Optimized in terms of weight and size, they fit into even the smallest installation spaces with bore diameters down to just 28 mm.

The shut-off valves deliver maximum sealing performance, achieved through a special double-eccentric flap design. The Rheinmetall flap systems ordered here control the flow of fresh and exhaust air and isolate the fuel cell stacks on the cathode side at the inlet and outlet points from the ambient environment.

Following the first sample deliveries in 2019 and successful testing of the B sample design, production is set to start in 2026 and continue until 2030 at Rheinmetall’s Berlin plant, where production lines have been modified for greater output volumes and a higher degree of industrialization. Rheinmetall will be supplying the components directly to the customer.

In line with Germany’s national hydrogen initiative, Rheinmetall AG is an industrial partner of the new Hydrogen Innovation and Technology Centre in Duisburg. The Group’s Sensors and Actuators division develops innovative solutions for supporting industry with high-quality hydrogen-related products that enable efficient and reliable use of fuel cells.