Fraunhofer IWS achieves excellent joint properties by means of magnetic pulse welding for usage at TU Munich

“Unweldable” not anymore: Optimized joining technology opens door to safe hydrogen use in aerospace industry

Press release (No. 5) - Fraunhofer IWS Dresden /

Eco-friendly flying is on the horizon. All over the world, researchers are developing new technologies to achieve this goal. One focus of developments is the idea of using hydrogen-powered engines for aircraft in the future. The aircraft companies, though, face the challenge of storing this energy source. Hydrogen turns liquid when cooled to minus 253 degrees Celsius, and only then can it be used as a so-called cryogenic fuel. Both tanks and pipe systems in the aircraft have to be absolutely tight at such low temperatures. An innovative new welding process can help to fulfill these requirement: magnetic pulse welding. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS in Dresden have now demonstrated that this joining technology can produce extremely resilient, metallic mixed joints for cryogenic applications. They successfully achieved these outstanding joint properties in cooperation with the Technical University of Munich.