ZF and Liebherr – Modular Compressor Systems for Fuel Cell Commercial Vehicles

ZF's Commercial Vehicle Solutions (CVS) division, together with the "Aerospace & Transportation" division of the Liebherr Group, announces the acceleration of the development and deployment of this technology. Both partners will develop fuel cell air compressor systems for their respective customer bases, with ZF exclusively serving the commercial vehicle sector.

"Decarbonizing the commercial vehicle industry requires an open technological approach," says Dr. Peter Laier, member of the ZF Board of Management responsible for the Commercial Vehicle Solutions and Industrial Technology divisions. "In our scenarios, we also see a significant number of fuel cell-powered commercial vehicles on our roads. Especially in long-distance transport, the additional battery charging time and range required will necessitate a fuel cell approach."

Synergies at Liebherr from the Aviation Sector

Since the performance and efficiency of fuel cell systems depend on reliable air supply, the compressor is one of the key components in high-performance fuel cell systems. Liebherr-Aerospace & Transportation SAS has over four decades of experience in the field of high power density and high-speed turbomachinery - particularly air bearing technology - which originally comes from aviation applications. Additionally, Liebherr has already developed several applications for the automotive sector.

“We leverage the competencies of ZF in the development of electric drives and peripheral systems, as well as our unique expertise in system integration. The commercial vehicle industry will play a key role in the decarbonization of the transportation sector. Our new partnership with Liebherr gives an additional boost to advance the development of fuel cell drives,” adds Dr. Laier.

Optimized for Commercial Vehicle Use

Through the new joint development agreement between ZF and Liebherr for fuel cell air compressors, ZF will support a wide range of vehicle platforms with a modular, compact, and scalable design. The compressor optimized for commercial vehicle use offers a number of advantages due to its air-bearing construction, including oil-free operation, extremely high motor speeds, resulting in high power density and efficient operation. According to Claus Umnus, Head of the Chassis Technology product line in ZF's Commercial Vehicle Solutions division, reliability over the entire lifecycle of the compressor, even in the most demanding applications in heavy-duty vehicles, is a central focus of ZF's development efforts.

"Thanks to the new partnership with Liebherr and the integration of know-how and expertise into our solutions, ZF can significantly shorten the market readiness of fuel cell compressors for commercial vehicles," explains Umnus.

Liebherr-Aerospace can look back on more than 40 years of experience in the development and production of climate systems, where the compressor forms the heart of the system and no refrigerants are used.