BRYSON (Baurauffiziente HYdrogenSpeicher Optimierter Nutzbarkeit) project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Economy and Energy of Germany, meaning "a space-efficient hydrogen storage system with optimized availability". The main participants of the BRYSON project are German enterprises, including BMW AG, The Institute of Light Engineering and Polymer Technology (ILK) of Dresden Polytechnic University, Leichtbauzentrum Sachsen (LZS), the composite engineering and development company, The composite distributor WELA Handelsgesellschaft and the University of Munich Applied Sciences.

The objective of the BRYSON project was to develop a new high-pressure hydrogen storage system designed to be easily integrated into a common vehicle architecture, so the project focused on building a flat design hydrogen storage system.

ILK, LZS and Composite Design have worked closely with manufacturer Herone GmbH to develop a hydrogen storage system consisting of chain tubular tanks. The storage tank is made of braided fabric reinforced thermoplastic composite material. The rapid production advantage of braided and thermoplastic composite material can effectively reduce the production cost of fuel cell vehicle hydrogen storage tank and make the recovery of the tank structure easier. The design of the new hydrogen storage system not only improves the product competitiveness, but also realizes better sustainability.

Alexander Rohkamm, co-founder of Herone GmbH and director of the BRYSON project, said: "The goal of the BRYSON project is to develop modular storage systems that can adapt to a given vehicle design space." The machining properties of thermoplastic composites make part design more integrated, reducing manufacturing costs and improving energy efficiency. Improves the ratio of performance to cost compared to traditional metal and thermosetting composite solutions.

"Alternative transport concepts also need to be rethought at every step of the development and manufacturing chain," Rohkamm points out. In the current internal combustion engine vehicle architecture, gasoline and diesel engines share the same installation space, and significant cost savings can be achieved by using the same architecture. Similarly, in order to achieve maximum flexibility and economy in future ev architectures, hydrogen storage systems can be designed in areas where high voltage batteries would otherwise be. Integrating the two types of energy (hydrogen and batteries) into the same installation space reduces costs and enables more flexible production."