Vision Group Sets a New Global Record! Hydrogen Fuel Cell Systems Delivered to Shannan, Tibet
Recently, 10 power systems provided by Vision Group for the hydrogen energy bus project in Shannan City, Tibet, have entered the delivery stage. These vehicles will be put into operation in the plateau area at an altitude of approximately 4,000 meters, breaking the global record for the highest-altitude application of fuel cell buses.
The plateau region, characterized by thin air, large temperature differences, and complex climatic conditions, poses all-round challenges to fuel cell systems. The winning hydrogen energy buses will operate long-term in extreme environments such as high altitude, low air pressure, low oxygen concentration, and intense ultraviolet radiation—serving as a comprehensive test of hydrogen energy technology’s durability, stability, and environmental adaptability.
To ensure stable and efficient operation of the vehicles on the plateau, Vision Group has innovatively developed several world-first core technologies, specifically addressing the pain points of plateau applications:
High-altitude air flow and pressure adaptive technology: Innovatively decouples air compressor speed from throttle opening, achieving a power loss of less than 5% within 4,000 meters, ensuring stable power output even in thin air.
Atomized spray cooling technology: Enables stable operation across the full 4%–100% power range, with an overall operating reflux ratio exceeding 0.6, maximizing hydrogen utilization.
Oxygen-enriched molecular sieve technology: Innovatively uses molecular sieves to increase intake oxygen concentration to 28%, boosting rated efficiency by 3% and effectively offsetting the impact of low oxygen on fuel cell performance in plateau areas.
Onboard combined heat and power technology: Utilizes phase-change materials for heat exchange with fuel cell coolants, providing battery insulation at low temperatures to enhance low-temperature discharge performance. In -40°C environments, it shortens battery warm-up time by 50% during cold starts. In extremely cold regions, heat pump air conditioning technology is adopted to exchange waste heat from the fuel cell with the vehicle interior for heating, reducing heat load by 30% and increasing system efficiency by 1.5% to extend vehicle range.
New-generation ultra-thin graphite stack: Adopts ultra-thin flexible graphite plates, reducing bipolar plate thickness to 1.5mm, with a volume power density of 4.5kW/kg—28% higher than the previous-generation graphite stack. Its cathode self-humidification technology helps reduce system auxiliary energy consumption.
As the world’s highest-altitude application case of fuel cell buses, the Shannan, Tibet project pioneers new geographical scenarios and operational models for hydrogen energy applications. The demonstration operation of plateau buses will systematically verify hydrogen energy’s adaptability in extreme environments such as border regions, severe cold, high temperatures, and high humidity—expanding the boundaries of hydrogen energy transportation applications nationwide and globally.
Additionally, the project will accumulate valuable data on hydrogen energy operation in plateau environments, laying the groundwork for future promotion of hydrogen energy applications in more plateau and special climate regions.
Source:Vision Group