Imagine a giant pump that can fill up a fleet of hydrogen trucks much faster than current systems. Instead of slow compression, it uses a clever hydraulic method to push the gas into tanks more efficiently. It's like upgrading from a small home water pump to a high-pressure industrial system to handle massive vehicles.
Current hydrogen refueling stations lack the capacity and energy efficiency to quickly fill large fleets of trucks, buses, and trains. This creates bottlenecks in the transition to heavy-duty zero-emission transport.
A scaled-up hydraulic compression system and a digital twin for process optimization. The system includes Type II hoop wrapped steel accumulators for 35 MPa refueling.
If you are a bus depot operator dealing with long overnight refueling times for a large fleet — this project developed a system that can dispense 150 kg/h of hydrogen. This allows for rapid refueling of buses every evening, totaling 1200 kg/d over 8 hours of operation.
If you are a logistics company dealing with high energy costs for hydrogen refueling — this project developed a compression process that reduces electricity consumption to 3.5 kWh/kg. This lowers the operational cost of moving hydrogen from 2 MPa production to 42 MPa vehicle tanks.
If you are a rail operator dealing with the need for massive hydrogen volumes at stations — this project developed a scaled-up compression concept. It provides the high dispensing rates required for trains, targeting a cost of 1200 €/(kg/d).
The project targets a cost of 1200 €/(kg/d) for the demonstrated system.
Yes, it is designed for a peak dispensing capacity of 150 kg/h, which amounts to 1200 kg/d during 8 hours of daily operation.
Based on available project data, the project focuses on bringing a disruptive compression technology to TRL7 for subsequent commercial product development, but specific licensing terms are not listed.
The process is expected to reduce electricity consumption to 3.5 kWh/kg of dispensed hydrogen when moving from 2 MPa to 42 MPa.
The project runs from 2023-01-01 to 2026-06-30, aiming for short-term commercial deployment following the demonstration phase.
The consortium is heavily industry-driven with a 57% industry ratio, comprising 4 industrial companies and 3 RTOs across France, Germany, and Italy. This balance suggests a strong focus on commercial viability, combining specialized expertise in hydraulic power, bladder accumulators, and digital twin modeling to move the technology from research to a TRL7 pilot.
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