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

Summary

Need

This project was selected as part of the competitive Hydrogen R&D Funding Round under the Transformative Research Accelerating Commercialisation (TRAC) Program to rapidly develop the critical technologies required to build a clean, innovative, safe, and competitive hydrogen industry and position Australia as a major player globally. While hydrogen technologies and targets have continued to evolve, R&D investment remains a critical imperative to commercialise clean hydrogen. Projects supported by the Hydrogen R&D Funding Round seek to progress the commercialisation of low cost, clean hydrogen in Australia.

To enable global liquid hydrogen trade operations, mega-scale storage tanks (comparable to existing LNG cylindrical tanks with a capacity of 200,000 m3 or more) with higher safety, lower operational and capital cost are essential to achieve the volume needed for export and transport through ships as the world’s largest liquid hydrogen storage tank is currently limited to 4700 m3. To ensure Australia can meet its hydrogen export goals, significant advancements in storage capacity will be required, as well as the ability to achieve zero-boil off and full containment safety features for energy export and import terminals.

Action

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.

Outcome

The project will achieve the following outcomes:

• accelerated commercialisation of renewable hydrogen through innovative R&D in hydrogen storage technologies;
• increased academic research capacity in the Australian hydrogen sector, and the facilitation of collaboration between research groups and industry;
• improvement in the technology readiness and commercial readiness of hydrogen storage technologies;
• minimised risk and cost of material loss in case of leaks or vacuum failures; and
• acceleration of hydrogen for export via pathway to scale storage technology commercialisation.

Additional impact

Cryogenic capabilities are vital for liquid hydrogen production and storage. As well as a key discipline for the space industry as it needs cryogenic propellants, industries related to super-conductivity, including quantum computing, nuclear fusion reactors, high-speed transportation, and particle colliders for nuclear physics. The proposed cryogenic testing platform and generated knowledge will be beneficial for Australian researchers and industries to advance in these critical technologies.