Testbed Leader: FABER
Via dell’Industria, 64 33043 Cividale del Friuli (UD), Italy
Director (or representative): Alberto Agnoletti
Project Description
A new H2 storage composite vessel prototype has been industrially validated, capable of holding over 300 litres of water. The prototype is being implemented on a fully automated line to produce high-pressure gas cylinders at a mass production scale of 10,000 cylinders per year, providing an optimal compromise in terms of performance and economics. The increase in operating pressure to at least 500 bar and the advanced use of composite materials, and based on regulatory/normative documents, for an increment in the gravimetric efficiency of the cylinders to over 5% will make it possible to create vehicles capable of reaching a payload of over 1.2 tones of hydrogen.
Key Metrics
Impact and Benefits
The testbed project aims to significantly impact the transport sector by providing a sustainable and efficient solution for hydrogen transportation. This will support the decarbonization projects contributing to the EU’s green transition goals.
Current Status
The project has made significant progress in various areas, including sourcing diverse materials for liner, resin, and carbon fibre components. Initial testing phases have started, with tests already underway. Critical evaluations, such as permeation and ageing tests on liner materials, are still in progress.
The project is also progressing through the design and development stages for the carbon winding, with detailed simulations being executed to determine optimal geometric configurations for enhanced efficiency and performance. This phase is crucial for meeting project requirements.
The material selection approach, testing, and simulation efforts demonstrate the project’s commitment to high-performance components.
Future Plans
The immediate next steps involve completing the ongoing material tests and further refining the study of the carbon winding. Following the successful completion of these two operations, the project will proceed with the fabrication of the initial prototypes.
These prototypes will undergo a thorough evaluation to determine the specific tests to be conducted. If the results of these preliminary tests are positive, additional prototypes will be produced to undergo the comprehensive testing required by the EN17339 standard.
Upon successful fine-tuning of the cylinders, the project will then focus on optimizing the production process. This optimization phase will ensure that the manufacturing workflow is efficient, cost-effective, and capable of meeting the high-quality standards established during the development and testing phases.