Linde Raises the Bar for Hydrogen Transport Efficiency

Technology company The Linde Group has developed a new storage technology that will enable a much more efficient transport of larger amounts of hydrogen. The new solution works at a higher pressure of 500 bar (7,250 psi) and uses new, lighter storage materials to more than double the amount of compressed gaseous hydrogen (CGH2) that can be transported in a single truck load. Successful field tests with the first reference customer have confirmed the clear benefits of the 500-bar technology over conventional 200-bar systems.

“Our 500-bar technology is another important milestone for hydrogen mobility,” explains Dr Andreas Opfermann, Head of Clean Energy and Innovation Management at Linde. “It cuts the cost of transporting hydrogen to fuelling stations and reduces the amount of space required on site to store the gas.”

Linde has opened a 500-bar fuelling station at its gases centre in Leuna, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Linde developed the new 500-bar trailers in collaboration with compressed gas storage specialist Wystrach GmbH. Each trailer features 100 lightweight composite storage elements developed in collaboration with xperion Energy & Environment GmbH. A single trailer can transport over 1,100 kilograms, or 13,000 normal cubic metres, of hydrogen gas. In addition, the trailers can now be filled and emptied in less than 60 minutes.

This innovative technology reflects Linde’s commitment to continually optimising the hydrogen value chain. It gives bulk customers a cost-effective alternative to existing cryogenic transport solutions for liquid hydrogen (LH2).

This project is supported by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development. NOW GmbH National Organisation Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology is in charge of the programme coordination.