Mega-scale liquid H2 storage with super-insulated full-containment & zero-boil-off

April 19th, 2024

R&D Focus Areas:
Liquid hydrogen

Lead Organisation:
University of Melbourne

Partners:
GenH2 Discover Hydrogen, Energy Evolution LLC, Omni Tanker Pty Ltd, Eta Space LLC, Rotork Australia Pty Ltd

Status:
Active

Start date:
March 2024

Completion date:
March 2029

Key contacts:
Dr Shanaka Kristombu Baduge, Research Fellow/ Research Centre Manager – kasun.kristombu@unimelb.edu.au

Funding:
AUD$3.08 million – Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA)

Project total cost:
AUD$6.56 million

Project summary description (as published by ARENA):
The project aims to develop the world’s first mega-scale liquid hydrogen (LH2) storage solution, up to 200,000 m3, with zero-boil off and full containment safety features for energy export and import terminals. The proposed mega-scale storage solution would significantly lower capital costs for storage, reduce the cost of boil-off gas, and minimise risk and cost of material loss in case of leaks or vacuum failures.

The project will be delivered in two stages, a core research stage (Stage 1), followed by a research commercialisation stage (Stage 2).

Stage 1 will involve:

  • Simulating cryogenic boil-off gas, developing composite magnetocaloric materials and designing a lab-scale magnetic refrigeration system.
  • Developing a lab-scale active magnetic refrigeration system and testing the performance of the developed system.
  • Fabricating a lab-scale physical model to test the structure of the proposed tank and developing a leak detection system for the developed physical model.

Stage 2 will involve:

  • Fabricating the tank compartments, mounting systems and connections of the prototype.
  • Fabricating the superinsulation system for the prototype tank structure according to the detailed drawings.
  • Integration of the super insulation system, thermal sensors and utilities, operation and validation of the mega scale tank prototype.

The project will achieve the following outcomes:

  1. Accelerated commercialisation of renewable hydrogen through innovative R&D in hydrogen storage technologies;
  2. Increased academic research capacity in the Australian hydrogen sector, and the facilitation of collaboration between research groups and industry;
  3. Improvement in the technology readiness and commercial readiness of hydrogen storage technologies;
  4. Minimised risk and cost of material loss in case of leaks or vacuum failures; and
  5. Acceleration of hydrogen for export via pathway to scale storage technology commercialisation

This project aims to develop a cryogenic testing platform for liquid hydrogen storage related research. That includes special cryostats to test mechanical strength properties at cryogenic temperatures of 20 K or lower, hydrogen leak and micro-cracking testing for composites at 20 K and vacuumed insulation testing at 77 K. (This text included at researcher request.)

Related publications and key links:
https://arena.gov.au/projects/mega-scale-liquid-h2-storage-with-super-insulated-full-containment-and-zero-boil-off/

Higher degree studies supported:
Two Post Doctoral positions and more than 5 PhDs will be supported by this project.

 

April 2024