CELLSIUS – H2

In a bid to reduce emissions and promote sustainable aviation, we CELLSIUS, a group of 14 mechanical- and 2 electrical engineering students from ETH Zurich, embarked on a year-long project to develop a hydrogen battery hybrid powertrain for a light aircraft. The project aims to showcase the feasibility of hydrogen as a green alternative to conventional fuel.

To achieve our goal, several challenges must be overcome. One of these challenges is the entirety of the electrical system, which is extremely complex. To get the propeller to spin, among others, two power electronic systems needed to be implemented, namely a DC/DC-converter and an Inverter. To control these systems a PCB had to be designed.

The custom PCB produced by Eurocircuits implements the following systems:

• Read and process sensor data
• Vector control of the inverter
• PID control of the DC/DC-converter
• Communication with the main computing unit via CAN

As we move towards the final stages of our project, we are confident that our hydrogen battery hybrid powertrain will demonstrate the feasibility of hydrogen as a green alternative to conventional fuels and pave the way for a more sustainable aviation industry in the future. We hope that our work will inspire others to take up the challenge of sustainable aviation, and that together we can create a greener, cleaner, and more sustainable future for all.