When the latest insight into the North American H2 sector arrived in the form of gasworld’s Business Intelligence report, front and center was the fact of the continuing acceleration of the clean energies transition. See the new issue of gasworld as it published its Hydrogen special here https://www.gasworld.com/issue/issue-215-march-2023-hydrogen-issue/2121295.article/
As a leading manufacturer of hydrogen pressure vessels this is a keenly-awaited report for FIBA Technologies and for many of our customers.
We were especially interested to see the focus on the start-up companies entering the North American hydrogen production sector, with around 50 new facilities planned to be up and running by 2030. With the US and Canada already producing 12.6 million tonnes of hydrogen per year, most of this goes to industry, especially for the refining and chemical sectors.
What the new production facilities will bring will be a geographic shift where we will see the traditional producers in the South East and South West of the US share the market with newer producers from right across the country.
What does this mean for the demand for hydrogen pressure vessels?
The more visible part of FIBA’s pressure vessel output for this sector has been seen in the developing hydrogen refueling station infrastructure. Here it is understood that customers prefer hydrogen due to the fact that refueling is fast and simple – this customer experience is very similar to filling up with gasoline.
It should also be recognized that demand has been growing worldwide for industrial hydrogen storage and transportation solutions.
FIBA manufactures not only Type I ASME Section VIII Div. 1 and Div. 3, but also Type II ASME Section VIII Div. 3 composite pressure vessels.
The Type I ASME ground storage hydrogen pressure vessels are able to carry a payload of 451 cubic meters at 500 bar – FIBA’s AD2000 pressure vessels used in Europe hold up to 903 cubic meters at 450 bar.
If we look at the composite hydrogen pressure vessels, FIBA manufactures the highest pressure composite vessels on the market, at 1,034 bar. The Type II ASME Section VIII Div. 3 composite pressure vessel has a payload capability of up to 261 cubic meters of hydrogen at this pressure.