Reverse engineering of the hydrogen system of a commercial fuel cell vehicle

This paper comprises a complete reverse engineering of a Toyota Mirai. The hydrogen system of this commercial fuel cell vehicle (FCV) was comprehensively analysed. The level of consideration includes all non-destructively accessible aspects such as mechanical design principles, functional analyses, and material and component selection up to the interfaces to the vehicle. The most important operating data, functions and error messages for a laboratory’s recommissioning system were extracted. All relevant operating parameters were read out live on a test track and could then be interpreted and described. In the next step, the complete hydrogen system, including batteries, power electronics and wiring harness, were removed from the vehicle. Considering the safety requirements, the vehicle’s components were reassembled in a hydrogen laboratory. With the integration of the necessary signals, the error messages were successfully eliminated to put the system back into operation in the laboratory gradually. Particular importance has been attached to the comprehensive documentation of the findings. The individual components are described and explained in detail.