Hydrogen power is used in mobile tools such as aircraft, ships, and vehicles, and hydrogen storage tanks that withstand high pressure are indispensable products.
The largest demand is for 700bar, IV tanks; 700bar, IV tanks require 10 kg of carbon fiber per 1 kg of hydrogen stored;
Each FCV (fuel cell vehicle) carries at least 5-6 kg of hydrogen, and the 5 million FCVs expected to be put into use by 2030 will require 250,000 tons of carbon fiber reinforced resin (CFRP) composite materials for the manufacture of hydrogen storage tanks;
By 2030, the demand for carbon fiber in FCV (fuel cell vehicle) IV type hydrogen storage tank alone is 166,650 tons (700bar, IV type tank, 5.6 kg hydrogen storage, under the premise that carbon fiber content in composite materials is 60%) , the amount of carbon fiber per hydrogen storage tank is about 62-72 kg).
High-pressure hydrogen storage tanks account for 40% of the value of the fuel cell system. 70% of the 40% value is the hydrogen storage tank body, and the rest are valves and other components.
For many years, carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites have provided the storage of compressed hydrogen gas for zero-emission fuel cell-powered vehicles through Type IV hydrogen storage tanks consisting of a plastic liner wrapped with a carbon fiber and epoxy substrate.
Universal Hydrogen has signed letters of intent with three regional airlines to retrofit existing turboprop aircraft with hydrogen-powered propulsion systems.
Also worth mentioning, Cimmaron Composites, now acquired by Hanwha Solutions, announced a $130 million investment in a new production facility in Opelica, Alabama.
Another composite tank maker, NPROXX, currently in a 50/50 joint venture with Cummins, which produces 130 million internal combustion engines annually, has invested in electrolyzers, hydrogen engines, fuel cells and hydrogen storage tanks to produce hydrogen.
Growth forecast for Type IV hydrogen storage tanks is huge
Hexagon Composites, the leader in Type IV tank production, spun off Hexagon Purus in January to focus on zero-emission hydrogen and battery power systems and hydrogen storage. It is estimated that from 2025 to 2030, hydrogen storage tank revenue will grow by 630%.
However, Type IV hydrogen storage tanks also face serious problems. Most notably, the cost of carbon fiber makes these tanks very expensive. Another key issue is storage density. Although compressed hydrogen provides three times the mass of gasoline, its volumetric energy is considerably lower, requiring large, high-pressure tanks to hold enough fuel to store it.
For mobile applications, the light weight offered by Type IV carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) hydrogen storage tanks has propelled its use relative to metal alternatives. But in stationary applications, including hydrogen refueling stations, weight is not the main driver.
In fact, hydrogen has a higher density when stored at -253°C as a cryogenic liquid, and its density is highest when stored in a cryogenic compressed hydrogen storage tank at -230°C and 300 bar—reportedly comparable to an IV of 700 bar. Hydrogen is increased by 50% compared to the type tank. Refrigerated hydrogen storage tanks are usually metal, and Type IV tanks have not been demonstrated to have the same performance and fatigue life as metal tanks, with a lifespan of more than 25 years.
Hydrogen for heavy transport
Cummins is working with longtime customer and truck manufacturer Navistar to develop a fuel cell-powered Class 8 truck. The truck will be integrated into Werner Enterprises' fleet of 7,700 vehicles for a year-long trial in local and regional service in Fontana, California. Cummins has also begun testing hydrogen-powered internal combustion engines (that is, burning hydrogen directly) and will evaluate them in a variety of on- and off-highway applications. Jonathan Wood, Cummins' vice president of new power engineering, said in a June 2021 interview that by the end of the decade, these products will approach the TCO-total cost of ownership of a diesel engine. As countries seek to achieve zero-emission targets, he noted that future heavy-duty transport will be powered by hydrogen, fuel cells or batteries, not diesel.
Michael Himmen, managing director and head of sales at hydrogen storage tank manufacturer NPROXX, said, “In Europe, we have legislation that requires truck OEMs’ production fleets to reduce CO2 emissions by an average of 30% by 2030 compared to 2019. So part of the truck production in Europe will be hydrogen powered, possibly up to 5%, possibly up to 15,000-20,000 units/year. It will start at 2,000 units/year in 2026-27 and grow steadily”. Each truck has 5 to 7 Type IV hydrogen storage tanks, and heavy trucks can require 100,000 storage tanks per year in ten years, requiring 6,000 tons of carbon fiber. This will be 25% of the combined carbon fiber production of Toray (Tokyo, Japan), South Korea, France and the United States, and 25% of the planned 2028 capacity of Hyosung (Seoul, South Korea) at its 10 production lines
"The heavy-duty transportation industry in particular is accelerating," said Jrn Helge Dahl, sales and marketing director at Hexagon Purus. For large vehicles, hydrogen is more practical than batteries, he explained, because the increase in battery size, weight and charging time is sufficient to meet payload and range requirements, which is not economical. Hexagon Purus estimates Type IV hydrogen storage tank revenue to be $1.1 billion and $7 billion in 2025 and 2030, respectively, with heavy-duty vehicles expected to account for the largest share of ~30%.
Demand for carbon fiber in FCV (fuel cell vehicle)
At a 2019 conference, Axel Seifert, director of composite pressure vessels at Omnium Plastic, claimed that a 700-bar Type IV tank would require 10 kilograms of carbon fiber to store one kilogram of hydrogen. He pointed out that FCVs (fuel cell vehicles) carry at least 5-6 kilograms of hydrogen, and the 5 million FCVs expected to be in use by 2030 will require 250,000 tons of carbon fiber for hydrogen storage tanks. At the same time, he pointed out that the total demand for carbon fiber in 2019 was only 80,000 tons, of which more than 60% was used for wind turbine blades and aerospace applications.
Is the estimate of 250,000 tons exaggerated?
The total number of vehicles reported in the Hydrogen Council's 2021 Hydrogen Insights report is estimated to reach 4.5 million FCVs by 2030. However, each passenger vehicle (PV-passenger vehicle) requires 5-6 kg of hydrogen. Hyundai's heavy-duty truck Xcient needs to carry 35 kilograms of hydrogen. Heavy trucks are expected to account for 25% of FCV's annual production.
Composites industry veterans predict that by 2030, the demand for carbon fiber in type IV hydrogen storage tanks will be 166,650 tons (700bar, type IV tanks, 5.6 kg of hydrogen storage, and under the premise that carbon fiber content in composite materials is 60%, The amount of carbon fiber in the hydrogen storage tank is about 62-72 kg). It should be noted that this forecast is very conservative.
"From 2020 to 2021, his company doubled its business, and it will do the same next year. We are not the only one; I think Hexagon is doing the same with the same growth. Growth has slowed over the past two years as demand for carbon fiber in commercial aircraft has fallen due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Getting enough carbon fiber is one of our main concerns.”
However, not only is Airbus now aiming to increase manufacturing rates, but there will also be a significant increase in wind turbines using large amounts of carbon fiber to drive green hydrogen production. Can the carbon fiber industry keep up with this growth? "We need carbon fiber with a certain quality and performance within a certain price range," Seaman noted. Most Type IV hydrogen storage tanks use Toray T700 carbon fiber (tensile strength 4900 MPa, modulus 230 MPa) or equivalent. “Lower-strength carbon fiber requires more windings, and the tank gets thicker, which is unacceptable. If you don’t know now where the carbon fiber is coming from next year, you may actually have to stop production.”
Toray (Tokyo, Japan), one of the leading carbon fiber manufacturers, singled out the growth of FCVs and compressed hydrogen storage tanks in a June 2020 presentation, saying that it will plan "massive capital expenditures on hydrogen storage tanks in a timely manner" , demand is expected to grow after 2023. It also said that the company would "prioritize hydrogen storage tanks as a strategic application of the highest priority and allocate development resources", noting that "increasing high performance and reducing carbon fiber costs". Meanwhile, Hyosung (Seoul, South Korea) announced that it will increase carbon fiber production from a single line of 2,000 t/y to 10 lines of 24,000 t/y by 2028 to support South Korea`s hydrogen roadmap.
Light Transportation, Automotive and Asia
French automotive Tier 1 suppliers Faurecia (Nanterre) and Plastic Omnium (Lavallois) are new entrants to the Type IV hydrogen storage tank market, both targeting a 25-30% market share. They predict that by 2030, the annual production of hydrogen-powered vehicles will reach 2 million, of which 1.5 million will be light-duty and passenger vehicles.
Plastic Omnium says hydrogen vehicle sales will start to pick up in 2027-2028, but Faurecia says its partnership with five light-duty and passenger vehicle OEMs in Europe and North America has already generated sales for 2022, with initial production 80,000 hydrogen vehicle systems per year.
Faurecia, Hexagon Purus, NPROXX and Plastic Omnium all offer complete hydrogen/fuel cell systems including fuel cell stacks, tanks and auxiliary equipment. Faurecia claims that hydrogen storage tanks account for 40% of the value of a fuel cell system. 70% of the 40% value is the hydrogen storage tank body, and the rest are valves and other components.
Plastic Omnium noted that Asia is expected to lead in hydrogen fuel cell vehicle (FCV) sales with a 75% market share, followed by Europe at 20% and North America at 5%. In fact, China and Japan have announced targets for 1 million and 800,000 fuel cell vehicles respectively by 2030, while South Korea has said it will convert all commercial vehicles to hydrogen by 2025 and 620 by 2040 The goal of 10,000 fuel cell vehicles. It is worth noting that these countries have a large amount of carbon fiber production.
Therefore, when Plastic Omnium established its Δ-Deltatech (Brussels, Belgium) R&D center for fuel cells and hydrogen storage in 2019, it simultaneously established the ω-Omegatech (Wuhan, China) R&D center, complete with carbon fiber winding pilot lines and fuel systems test lab. Wuhan has been designated as China's first "hydrogen city" with 30-100 hydrogen fueling stations, 3-5 world-leading hydrogen companies, and a hydrogen industrial park with more than 100 fuel cell vehicle manufacturers and related companies.
Meanwhile, Hexagon Purus announced in March 2021 a joint venture with CIMC Enric (Shenzhen) that will initially expand existing Type III pressure vessel production while installing Type IV tank production. Increased Type III tank production and construction of a new Type IV tank facility will begin in 2021, with a capacity of 100,000 vehicles/year by 2025.
Iljin Composites changed its name to Iljin Hysolus (Bongdong eup, Korea) due to its public offering on the Korea Stock Exchange on September 3, 2021, and is known as the only composite hydrogen storage tank producer in Korea and the only supplier of Hyundai Nexo brand vehicles . Iljin Hysolus also reportedly supplies hydrogen storage tanks for South Korean police, districts and bus systems, and has two production sites, one in Jeonbuk and one in Wanju.
In other notable activities, Toyoda Gosei (Akio Toyoda) (Rice, Japan) produced the third hydrogen storage tank for the 2021 Toyota Mirai with a capacity of 30,000 units/year (Toyoda-Toyoda produced the first two hydrogen storage tanks in-house for the Mirai) Can). In 2021, in France, Faurecia completed the acquisition of CLD (Shenyang), a leading Chinese hydrogen storage tank manufacturer, with two factories in Liaoning, producing 30,000 hydrogen storage tanks per year.
According to the December 2020 “Overview of China’s Hydrogen Storage Technology” published by analyst firm Integral Co., Type I and III hydrogen storage tanks are preferred in China, with Type III hydrogen storage tanks producing very little. However, demand is increasing. Report author Stephanie Ao noted that until recently, China had banned the use of Type IV hydrogen storage tanks. Understandably, Type III hydrogen storage tanks still dominate the Chinese hydrogen vehicle market, especially for applications requiring 350 bar. However, she noted that the 700 bar Type III tank is in the final stages of test validation. Top suppliers of Type III hydrogen storage tanks include CLD (Shenyang, currently owned by Faurecia), as well as Beijing Zhongyin Industrial, Fukui Industrial and Tianhai Industrial.