Fraunhofer Institute for Transportation and Infrastructure Systems IVI
Zero-emission off-road: A European hydrogen initiative takes shape
The decarbonization of heavy industrial machinery is one of the most pressing and most complex challenges in the transition to a climate-neutral economy. Agricultural equipment, port machinery, and other non-road mobile machinery (NRMM) operate under extreme conditions that make electrification alone insufficient. Hydrogen-powered powertrains offer a promising path forward – and the recently launched EU project H2ROAM (Hydrogen for Robust Off-Road Application Modules) is set to demonstrate just how viable that path can be.
Running from January 2026 to December 2029, H2ROAM brings together nine European partners to advance and validate hydrogen-powered powertrain systems at Technology Readiness Level 6 (TRL6).
The challenge: extreme conditions, real-world demands
Off-road machinery faces operational realities that push technology to its limits: extreme temperatures, high humidity, corrosive environments, heavy vibrations, dust, and continuous high-demand cycles. Existing hydrogen solutions have not yet been fully validated under such demanding conditions.
H2ROAM directly addresses this gap. The project partners will develop a framework that enables powertrain configuration with varying power demands and degrees of hybridization – from a baseline system at 110 kW to multi-configuration systems at 220 kW (2 strings), 550 kW (5 strings), etc. Thanks to its modular design, this framework will cover the full spectrum of operational needs in agricultural and port applications.
The solution: modular, adaptable hydrogen powertrains
Building on insights from previous EU-funded projects, H2ROAM emphasizes configurability, reliability, environmental sustainability, and economic feasibility. Through extensive field demonstrations, the project will evaluate modular powertrain building blocks under real-world conditions – validating not just performance, but long-term viability.
A comprehensive Lifecycle Assessment and Techno-Economic Assessment are embedded in the project design, ensuring that environmental and economic dimensions are assessed in parallel with technical development.
Intelligent energy management for extended lifespan and improved efficiency
Fraunhofer IVI will be contributing with their expertise in powertrain simulation and energy management systems. The research team is already working on dedicated simulation models that form the foundation for the key contribution to the project: the Advanced Modular Energy Management System (EMS), tailored for scalable fuel cell powertrains.
This EMS introduces three key technological advancements, all of which will in combination reduce operational costs, extend system lifespan, and improve efficiency for end users in demanding industrial environments:
- A modular, model-based EMS leveraging multi-physical system simulations, co-simulation support, and integrated thermal modeling – enabling compatibility across platforms.
- An intelligent, predictive energy management strategy combining heuristic control, Model Predictive Control, and Machine Learning techniques to dynamically optimize power distribution based on real-time system parameters including State-of-Health monitoring and load-adaptive power dispatch.
- A cloud-based analytics and remote diagnostics layer, enabling real-time fault detection, Remaining Useful Life estimation, automated firmware updates, and 4G LTE telemetry connectivity for seamless remote monitoring.
Researchers of Fraunhofer IVI are currently focusing on building a Python-based, open-source vectorized, fast-compute powertrain model to estimate the load cycle requirements, ideal component sizing, transient dynamics and efficiency analysis for the selected configurations based on various application specific load profiles.
