Fuel cells in big trucks wear out too fast — like a car engine that needs replacing every year. MORELife figured out why the cells degrade and developed better materials and smarter operating strategies to make them last much longer. They tested improved membrane assemblies and catalyst materials in real stack conditions, aiming to prove a 30,000-hour lifetime. Think of it as going from a phone battery that dies after six months to one that lasts the full life of the phone.
Heavy-duty trucks running on hydrogen fuel cells face a critical barrier: the fuel cell stacks degrade too quickly, driving up maintenance costs and making them uncompetitive with diesel. Fleet operators need stacks that last the full working life of a truck, but current technology falls short of the required durability for commercial viability.
The project delivered a validated MORELife fuel cell stack with improved materials (patented catalysts, optimised gas diffusion layers) and smarter operating strategies. They also built degradation prediction models and accelerated stress test protocols that can verify lifetime without years of real-world testing.
If you are a truck manufacturer struggling with fuel cell stack replacements eating into your warranty budgets — this project developed validated materials and operating strategies that target a 30,000-hour fuel cell lifetime. That means your trucks could run for years before needing a stack swap, making hydrogen trucks financially competitive with diesel.
If you are a membrane electrode assembly supplier losing contracts because your products degrade too fast in heavy-duty applications — this project developed improved catalysts (with international patent backing from partner Mebius) and optimised gas diffusion layer selection that survived accelerated stress testing. These materials were validated in stack-level tests, not just lab cells.
If you are a logistics company considering hydrogen trucks but worried about fuel cell replacement costs every few years — this project proved that with the right materials and control strategies, fuel cells can target 30,000 hours of operation. That translates to roughly the full working life of a truck, cutting your total cost of ownership significantly.
The project does not disclose material or licensing costs. However, longer-lasting stacks mean fewer replacements over a truck's lifetime. The economic case depends on how much you currently spend on stack replacements versus the cost premium for improved materials.
The project validated results up to short-stack level under application-relevant conditions, not full production scale. Partners EKPO and Nedstack are established fuel cell manufacturers, so the path to industrial production exists. Scaling from validated stack to series production would require further engineering.
Partner Mebius holds an international patent on the catalyst technology used in MEA production. IP for operating strategies and degradation models sits with the respective consortium partners (AVL, TUM, University of Ljubljana). Licensing terms would need to be negotiated with individual partners.
Current heavy-duty fuel cell stacks typically fall short of the operational hours needed for commercial viability. MORELife targeted a predicted lifetime of 30,000 hours, which would represent a major step toward matching diesel engine lifespans. The project used accelerated stress tests to validate these predictions.
The consortium built and validated a MORELife stack as a demonstrated deliverable. Testing progressed from single-cell level to short-stack level under both accelerated degradation conditions and application-relevant environments. AVL optimised and validated the operating conditions.
Not directly. The project is a Research and Innovation Action that proved materials and strategies work at stack level. Integration into a complete truck powertrain would require additional vehicle-level engineering, certification, and durability testing under real road conditions.
Longer fuel cell lifetimes support compliance with emerging EU regulations on zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles. Based on available project data, no specific regulatory certifications were pursued within the project scope, but the 30,000-hour target aligns with industry benchmarks for commercial viability.
The MORELife consortium is strongly industry-driven with 4 out of 7 partners (57%) from the private sector, including major fuel cell players. AVL List (Austria) coordinated — they are a global powertrain engineering company working with virtually every major truck OEM. EKPO Fuel Cell Technologies (Germany) and Nedstack (Netherlands) are established fuel cell stack manufacturers who contributed real-world degradation data. Mebius (Slovenia) is an SME with patented catalyst technology for MEA production. The three universities (Ljubljana, Eindhoven, Munich) provided degradation modelling and materials science expertise. This mix of commercial manufacturers and academic research across 4 countries means the results are grounded in industrial reality, not just lab theory.
AVL List GmbH in Graz, Austria — a major powertrain engineering firm. Their fuel cell division handles project inquiries.
Want to connect with the MORELife team about their fuel cell lifetime technology? SciTransfer can arrange a direct introduction to the right people in the consortium.
