“VW Involved in New Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Development”

In November 2022, WardsAuto — the US industry outlet — reported under the headline “VW Involved in New Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Development” on the development cooperation between Volkswagen and kraftwerk TUBES. The piece put the joint patent and the ceramic fuel-cell approach in front of American industry readers.

That approach: an Advanced Solid Oxide Fuel Cell whose nanocrystalline electrolyte works at 450–600 °C, making a solid oxide cell compact and vibration-resistant enough for vehicles for the first time. The building block is a 38-mm ceramic micro-tube of about one gram — roughly 100 Wh per cell, no platinum, no lithium.

Coverage in a US trade outlet meant the story had crossed the Atlantic: alongside Autocar in the UK, WardsAuto took it to the industry audience in North America. The substance is the public record — the joint patent DE102020119021B3 and the five-year proof-of-concept with the Volkswagen Group, including a test vehicle at 2,000 km on one tank. Beyond the cooperation and the patent, kraftwerk claims nothing.

On kraftwerkgroup.com, the technology page walks through the cell and explains every figure, and the datasheets are available on request; the vehicle catalogue shows 38 models upgraded by kraftwerk, from sedans to heavy trucks; the FAQ answers the most common questions. The original WardsAuto report is linked from this page.