Turin, 16 December 2024 – Dumarey Automotive Italia and the Politecnico di Torino are strengthening their collaboration, which began in 2006, through a new strategic partnership. The agreement aims to create and develop a technologically advanced research infrastructure designed to meet the needs of the development and testing of innovative hydrogen-powered propulsion systems. This project stands as a significant step towards the advancement of technologies related to sustainable mobility, with a focus on emissions reduction and ecological transition. The collaboration between the two organisations combines industrial and academic expertise, laying the foundations to accelerate the adoption of hydrogen as a key energy carrier in the transport sector and beyond.
The new agreement aims to promote research activities on hydrogen-powered internal combustion engines, in both single-cylinder and multi-cylinder configurations. The central element of this valuable collaboration is the ‘Dynamic Test Room for Hydrogen Engine Development’, a state-of-the-art testing facility owned by Dumarey Automotive Italia, which will be made available to the Politecnico di Torino for research, experimentation and technology transfer activities. To make it suitable for operating with multi-cylinder hydrogen engines, the test room has undergone significant upgrades, such as adapting the equipment to use a gaseous fuel, introducing hydrogen dispensing and measurement systems, and implementing test room automation to govern the tests and their operating dynamics.
The working environment is certified in accordance with recent regulations and the management of hydrogen as a fuel, with improvements and modifications to safety systems inside and outside the test room for optimal plant management. The control area of the test room is segregated to ensure the confidentiality of the data produced and the prototypes being tested.
Dumarey Automotive Italia will also contribute to the fitting out of one of the Politecnico’s engine cells located at the ‘Galileo Ferraris’ Energy Department, making it suitable for use in research activities on single-cylinder hydrogen thermoelectric engines, through the provision of engineering services.
The resources earmarked for the construction of these two test rooms, for multi- and single-cylinder engines, are part of a wide-ranging strategic plan promoted by Dumarey Automotive Italia, focused on the development of hydrogen-related technologies. Launched four years ago, the plan has seen a total investment of around €4 million, spread over several technological areas, including internal combustion engines, fuel cells, storage and hydrogen distribution systems.
This renewed collaboration represents a significant step towards innovation and sustainable development in the automotive sector, further strengthening the link between Dumarey Automotive Italia and the Politecnico di Torino.
Pierpaolo Antonioli, CEO Dumarey Automotive Italia, confirms: ‘We are extremely proud to renew our collaboration with the Politecnico di Torino, a partnership that has proven to be highly productive and innovative since its inception in 2006. Our collaboration has allowed us to develop cutting-edge research projects and train future generations of engineers. With the new agreement, we aim to further explore the potential of hydrogen-powered internal combustion engines, a strategic sector for the future of sustainable mobility. We are convinced that, together with the Politecnico, we will continue to make significant progress in research and technological development, contributing to a greener and more sustainable future.’
Stefano Corgnati, Rector Politecnico di Torino, comments: ‘The collaboration with Dumarey exemplifies the realisation of the strategy we are pursuing as a University, aimed at the development of shared research infrastructures with international partners that work and bring development to the territory, fully in line with the objectives of our second mission, that of Innovation and technology transfer with and towards companies. Furthermore, investing in hydrogen, both from the point of view of fuel cells and thermal engines, as well as in renewable fuels, and investigating new technological solutions together with companies is, at this historic moment, essential and a priority in order to meet the challenges posed by the energy transition in the field of mobility’.