Hydrogen storage material technology: guaranteeing the reliability of storage and transportation equipment

"The reliability manufacturing technology of hydrogen energy storage and transportation equipment is a problem that needs to be urgently cracked for industrial development." Chen Xuedong, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and chief engineer of China Machinery Industry Group Corporation, said that breaking through the key core technology of hydrogen energy storage and transportation equipment to ensure the safe and economic operation of the equipment is an urgent need to consolidate the technology of hydrogen energy industry development.

It is understood that the current hydrogen storage methods are divided into gaseous hydrogen storage, liquid hydrogen storage and solid hydrogen storage. The hydrogen storage scenarios include hydrogen refueling stations, transportation vehicles and fuel cell vehicles. Chen Xuedong mentioned that in the field of gaseous hydrogen storage, the construction and material of hydrogen storage bottle, as a container for carrying hydrogen, should ensure the safety of hydrogen energy storage and transportation equipment.

Specifically, in the field of vehicle-mounted high-pressure hydrogen, the hydrogen storage bottle and the combination valve of the bottle mouth are key challenges, said Chen Xuedong. "China is developing Ⅳ plastic inner fiber winding bottle and bottle mouth combination valve, and has developed a prototype and is conducting various performance test trials. However, the hydrogen storage bottle still has the problems that the composite resin matrix and carbon fiber in the inner liner are not firmly combined, the fiber breaks, and the bottle mouth seal leaks. The key to tackle the plastic liner of hydrogen storage bottle lies in the material, and the material currently used in China is nylon 66 or ultra-high density polyethylene. These two materials have their own advantages and disadvantages, and they need to be modified, and currently Beijing University of Chemical Technology is conducting research on the issue." Chen Xuedong said.