In recent years, the prominence of energy shortages and environmental damage has heightened the discussion on hydrogen fuel systems. The air compressor serves as the crucial key component of the fuel cell, providing high-pressure air for the cathode reaction. Termed as the "lung of the fuel cell", the performance of the air compressor significantly influences the overall vitality of the fuel cell, making it an integral part of the battery BOP system. Aiming to gain insight into the current status of domestic fuel cells, IJAMCE conducted an exclusive interview with Dr. Qingyi Kong, the technical director of Hebei Kingston Technology Co., Ltd., the leading manufacturer of fuel cell air compressors in China.

    Dr. Qingyi Kong obtained his Ph.D. from Hebei University of Technology in 2014. Upon joining Hebei Kingston Technology Co., Ltd. in 2017, he assumed responsibility for the research and design of high-speed motors. In 2020, he advanced to the role of technical director at Kingston Shijiazhuang R&D Center, overseeing the research and design of fuel cell air compressors. His leadership has resulted in the development of a range of air compressor products for 15kW-300kW stacks. The following is an edited transcript of the conversation between IJAMCE and Dr. Qingyi Kong, maintaining the original meaning. 

     IJAMCE: What will be the future development trend of hydrogen energy? 

   Qingyi Kong: As the problems of energy shortage and environmental damage become increasingly prominent, hydrogen energy will become a hot topic in energy discussions. According to predictions, China's hydrogen demand will be 37.15 million tons in 2030, accounting for approximately 5% of final energy consumption; and 130.3 million tons in 2060, accounting for approximately 22% of terminal energy consumption. The International Energy Agency predicts that global demand for hydrogen will reach 520 million tons by 2070. The World Energy Council predicts that hydrogen energy will account for 25% of global final energy consumption by 2050. 

     IJAMCE: How will Kingston Technology Co., Ltd.s product sales be in 2023?

     Qingyi Kong: According to our current market research, the market share of the top five suppliers of fuel cell air compressor shipments in the domestic market in 2023 will be as high as 96.48%, of which Hebei Kingston Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Kingston") will occupy the market It ranks among the top three in terms of market share and ranks first among centrifugal air compressors.

     IJAMCE: Kingston Technology was founded in 2007 and has 16 years of product research and development experience and deep market knowledge. In what aspects is the company’s core technology of hydrogen fuel cell air compressors reflected? Are there any actual application cases for this product for reference? 

     Qingyi Kong: Kingston was established in 2007 with a primary focus on the research, development, production, and sales of bearing products. In 2010, our venture into air bearing products led to the independent development of high-speed motors adaptable with air bearings. This strategic initiative in 2014 facilitated the transformation of our core technology into tangible products. With an extensive accumulation of expertise in air bearings and high-speed motors, combined with substantial engineering experience in the fluid machinery industry, Kingston has positioned itself to pursue precise endeavors in developing oil-free air compressors for the expanding hydrogen fuel cell sector. This has effectively marked the commencement of a new phase in our journey in the domain of new energy. We established the Kingston Shijiazhuang R&D Center in 2020. Over the past three years, in my role as the technical director, the company has achieved significant breakthroughs in core technical barriers, including high-efficiency low-specific speed compressors, dynamic pressure air bearings, high-speed motors, and high-frequency control, leading to the successful development of the TCC15-300 series air suspension air compressor. Kingston now boasts a team of over 300 individuals, with more than 60 dedicated to R&D. Throughout our research and development endeavors, we have leveraged our leading technical capabilities and expertise to establish and organize the "Hebei Air Bearing and Application Engineering Technology Research Center", "Hebei Enterprise Technology Center", and academician workstations, all of which stand as technologically advanced platforms for research and development. Kingston has gained market-wide recognition by leveraging its rigorous R&D approach, scientific product verification, accumulation of substantial and authentic data from numerous experiments, as well as supplying nearly 10,000 units, and accumulating over 100 million kilometers in cumulative operating mileage. 

      IJAMCE: What are the difficulties in designing the air compressor, the core component of the hydrogen fuel cell system? 

     Qingyi Kong: The centrifugal air compressor is the core component of the hydrogen fuel cell. It represents the highest level of the air compressor industry and involves aerodynamics, heat transfer, vibration mechanics, machinery, motors, electronic control, materials and high-tech Finishing and many other disciplines. The research and development of air compressors not only requires overcoming multiple individual technologies, but also requires integrating these individual technologies to ensure safe and efficient operation of the unit. These individual technologies include: high-efficiency and wide-range centrifugal air compressor pneumatic design and processing, elastic foil dynamic pressure air bearing design and manufacturing, ultra-high-speed motor design and manufacturing, ultra-high frequency permanent magnet synchronous motor controller design; integration Technologies include thermal management design and high-speed rotor dynamics design and analysis. At present, we have fully mastered the design and manufacturing of compressors, air bearings, ultra-high-speed motors and high-frequency controllers, which can perfectly match various machine models. In addition, there are corresponding technical challenges in the design of each component, which requires us to think about how to weigh the pros and cons and effectively integrate these core components. This requires a very rich accumulation of engineering technology and trade-offs in multiple disciplines, such as how to achieve small-scale on the basis of optimization without sacrificing too much performance and operating range. These R&D breakthroughs and optimization iterations are all achieved by the team's long-term efforts to overcome difficulties based on the accumulation of many years of high-end R&D experience. Over the past three years, Kingston air compressors have always adhered to the high-speed direct-drive centrifugal technology route. Looking back now, our choice of technical route was very correct. Most components, including bearings, motors and controllers, can be manufactured and produced domestically. Our advantages in industrialization and cost reduction are relatively obvious. Because each customer's system design is different, only by customizing the best match between the air compressor and the system can the fuel cell system achieve optimal performance. To this end, we have planned a unique technical architecture for the TCC air compressor series and TMC expander series during series design. Based on the unified underlying technology and design architecture, they have very flexible scalability and customization.

     IJAMCE: Do you pay attention to raw materials in product development?

   Qingyi Kong: Using appropriate raw materials is the basis for realizing product design intentions. In terms of mechanical structural components, as a product positioning for the automotive industry, we give priority to the raw materials, supply chain and quality management system of the automotive system. For some key components, we will also choose aviation-grade materials, such as high-temperature alloys. At the same time, we are also trying to use some new materials to further improve product performance. Currently, different solution routes are being tested and optimized in parallel. The Kingston team has a very deep background in air bearing application R&D and manufacturing services. The engineering and technical experience accumulated in high-end R&D service projects can be applied across borders to the automotive field. 

     IJAMCE: What are the mainstream types of air compressors currently on the market? Which type is expected to occupy a larger market share in the future?

   Qingyi Kong: There are three main types of air compressors used in fuel cells: centrifugal, roots, and screw. After 2020, centrifugal air compressors will gradually replace screw and roots air compressors and become the mainstream application in the domestic fuel cell air compressor market.Centrifugal air compressors have become industry-recognized as an excellent solution for fuel cell gas supply systems due to their cost reduction potential after mass production. The two-stage compression centrifugal air compressor has been verified by actual vehicle installation and is technically mature. With the development trend of high-power fuel cells, suppliers have seen the future of air compressors in high-power fuel cell application scenarios such as heavy trucks, and have begun to develop and produce air compressor products adapted to high-power fuel cells. 

     IJAMCE: Compared with foreign air compressor products, what are the differences between domestic products and them? In what aspects do breakthroughs need to be made?

   Qingyi Kong: Currently, there are no fully mature products that fully meet user requirements in the world. Some foreign manufacturers started earlier, and there is a certain gap between domestic and foreign air compressor technology levels, but this gap is something we can strive to catch up with. Our "TCC" series air compressors range from TCC15 to TCC300 air compressors. Customer evaluation results and data have shown that product performance has surpassed foreign competing products in many aspects. Foreign products are not perfect. In terms of breakthroughs in core technologies, we actually face the same challenges and problems at home and abroad. With the vigorous development of the Chinese market, we believe that Chinese brands have advantages in many aspects. We firmly believe that there will be Chinese brands that will win the race in this field. In this context, we should seize the rare opportunity, give full play to our unique technological advantages, and do a solid job in the following aspects: closely coordinate research and development with power systems, demand traction and technology promotion; multi-disciplinary cross-border application, close cooperation between industry, academia and research Cooperate; move forward in a down-to-earth manner and continuously accumulate product research and development data.  

    IJAMCE: It is understood that the current stage is the market introduction period of air compressors, and it is also an opportunity for air compressor manufacturers to enter the hydrogen fuel cell market. What do you think of this?

   Qingyi Kong: We look forward to more powerful and high-quality domestic companies joining this market. Only with healthy competition can we achieve sustainable development and technological upgrading of the industry, which will jointly promote the healthy and rapid development of the fuel cell industry.