New 7.5 kW fuel cell converter

Celeroton continues to expand its portfolio of fuel cell converters. With the launch of the improved power electronics converter, CC-550-7500, operating compressors up to 7.5 kW of drive power (at 300 VDC converter input) is now possible for fuel cell stacks of up to 75 kW.

Besides the increased power rating, the CC-550-7500 – like all Celeroton fuel cell converters – has an auxiliary low-voltage input to power the digital electronics and to allow starting of a high speed, oil-less compressor (up to 300,000 RPM) from a voltage of 10 – 36 VDC. This allows the start-up of the compressor and therefore the fuel cell from a 12 or 24 VDC battery. Up to 300 W can be provided to the compressor from this low voltage input. If the fuel cell then produces sufficient power, the converter switches to the high-power input (range of 100 – 550 VDC) to operate the compressor directly from the fuel cell. With this concept, the power required for the compressor – it is the largest parasitic load in the Balance of Plant (BoP) – bypasses the DC/DC converter, thus allowing a smaller DC/DC converter to be used and ultimately results in cost-optimized system design.

The water-cooled, fuel cell converter CC-550-7500 is equipped with an integrated CAN 2.0A communication interface, and optionally with the SAE J1939 protocol.

The previous CC-550-5000 is now replaced by the CC-550-7500 while the dimensions (300 x 190 x 80 mm or 11.8 x 7.5 x 3.1 inches) remain the same. Like its predecessor, the new model is designed for applications in transit buses, port and airport vehicles, municipal vehicles, small transport vans and passenger cars.