Hydrogen-powered prototype vehicle based on a VW T2, built 1986, 17 kW (23 hp). Technoseum/Landesmuseum für Technik und Arbeit in Mannheim.
This VW bus was fitted with a hydrogen-powered electric engine for testing purposes in the Institute of Neutron Physics and Reactor Technology (INR) at the former Karlsruhe Nuclear Research Center. The vehicle underwent its trial run in 1986. The institute had developed the capability to handle hydrogen as part of its nuclear technology activities. This expertise allowed the institute to explore new technologies using hydrogen as an alternative energy source. Due to its high energy density, hydrogen was considered a potentially efficient fuel to achieve relatively long range travelling distances. In the initial phase, the energy contained in isolated hydrogen was converted into propulsion using an alkaline thin-film fuel cell. The INR itself tested the production of such units. In this hydrogen-powered vehicle, the electricity from the fuel cell drives an electric motor, serving as the drive unit. The hydrogen van, nicknamed “Wasserstoffbulli,” was approved for use on roads and was driven on what is now KIT’s North Campus, even making appearances at the Hockenheimring motor racing circuit. The new technology has since been adapted for buses used in public transportation. A pilot operation preceding series production began in 2013 with a shuttle bus running between KIT’s North and South Campuses. kn
When the Volkswagen van powered by hydrogen was in operation at the Nuclear Research Center, the automotive industry had just begun exploring this energy source for private vehicles. Eight years later, Daimler-Benz AG presented its first fuel-cell test vehicle, called Necar 1. In principle, hydrogen can be used directly in conventional combustion engines, an approach that BMW experimented with. However, fuel-cell vehicles are always electrically operated. The electricity is generated by means of the exothermic reaction of hydrogen molecules with oxygen molecules. This process is emission-free, producing only water. Under optimal conditions, fuel-cell efficiency can approach 100 %. Fuel cells for generating electrical energy were already ready for operation during the Karlsruhe trials, although not for road vehicles. In top-of-the-line space technology, fuel cells, along with solar panels and miniature nuclear reactors, were standard equipment. Adapting this technology for road vehicles presented additional challenges: storing and refueling highly volatile hydrogen, for instance, or adjusting power generation to varying operational demands, or developing cutting-edge technology for everyday use. Maintaining the working temperature of around 80 degrees Celsius — through initial heating and subsequent cooling during operation — posed one such challenge. In addition, the heavy hydrogen tanks needed to be kept in a deep-frozen state, which was energy-intensive and required too much space. These factors limited the practical usability of the VW Transporter, whose electric motor could only produce about 17 kW. A range of 500 km on a single hydrogen tank was achievable. The Karlsruhe project was conceived during the oil crisis in 1973. But the Nuclear Research Center’s primary motivation for venturing into vehicle propulsion was, to broaden the field of applications for nuclear reactors. High-temperature reactors produce substantial amounts of waste heat, which can be used to split water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen. This method is more direct and potentially more efficient than first generating electricity and then producing hydrogen through hydrolysis. The State Museum of Technology and Labor in Mannheim (LTA) and Karlsruhe Nuclear Research Center had already collaborated in numerous instances, dating back to the museum’s founding in the mid-1980s. When the Center decided to discontinue its experiments on motive power engineering, the museum’s curator for mobility history accepted the offer to adopt the hydrogen automobile prototype. The vehicle was added to the LTA collection and has featured in various exhibitions, including ones focusing on innovative drive technologies. Kurt Möser