The hydrogen economy is at a crucial juncture. Greater scalability for hydrogen infrastructure is needed for this promising clean energy fuel to meet its full potential, and professionals in the space are working diligently to make it happen.
But that scalability comes with some challenges. Some of these challenges are larger and more complex, including overcoming regulatory hurdles and approvals or navigating changing government incentives. Other challenges are more technical, existing at the point of production, distribution, and dispensation. To overcome this latter group of challenges, equipment manufacturers need high-performance fluid systems built from high-quality materials that are designed to effectively contain and transfer small-molecule gases. They also need to employ knowledgeable teams that know how to install and maintain those systems so they can reliably operate critical infrastructure.
With this in mind, let’s take a look at five strategies that can help hydrogen professionals more effectively scale their operations to meet today’s demands:
Seek Out Effective, Modular Designs
Achieving hydrogen’s potential as an energy source starts at the beginning—the point of hydrogen generation. The electrolysis process requires high-integrity fluid system components that reliably transfer hydrogen and oxygen to their next destination in the production process. It is here where hydrogen producers tend to run into some inefficiencies.
For example, all electrolyzers incorporate a sampling panel used to analyze the purity of the gas and ensure that the final product meets specifications. These sampling panels typically contain a variety of different components, including tube fittings, gauges, valves, and sometimes complex tubing runs. Often, these sampling panels are constructed in-house by technicians who may or may not be experts in fluid system design and construction. While this approach of customizing panel construction may be adequate for smaller-scale production, as the number of electrolyzers within an operation grows, standardizing panel design and construction can help producers scale far more quickly.
Sampling panels that are prefabricated by experienced fluid system product suppliers are a good option for achieving this standardization while freeing up internal resources. These panels can be ordered as a single part number and installed via as little as two connections for fast, easy integration. Since these panels are built in accordance with best practices for safe, intuitive operation, they can also simplify the sampling process for hydrogen producers, making it easier to train operators and minimizing opportunities for errors.
Standardize Connections Where Possible
Regardless of the application, hydrogen fluid systems tend to contain many individual connection points. For greater scalability and maintainability, it can be helpful to standardize these connections where possible.
For example, it is not uncommon for some hydrogen manifolds to contain a variety of different connections. These may include welded, threaded, or partially swaged connections as well as tube fittings and other connection types. While this variation in connections may work for smaller operations, it can quickly become problematic as production scales. Maintaining mixed-component systems can quickly become a time-consuming headache compared to systems with standardized connection points. The more you can standardize your connection types, the more you can help maintenance personnel focus their time on higher-value tasks.
Use Only Components Intended for Hydrogen Applications
An inherent challenge with hydrogen production and transport is the containment of a small-molecule gas like hydrogen. Hydrogen can escape from even the most miniscule connection gaps, and it can jeopardize the integrity of certain metals, potentially leading to leaks and safety concerns.
To combat this, it is important to select and specify components that have been explicitly designed for hydrogen containment. For example, tube fittings best suited for hydrogen applications may feature two lines of contact across longer sealing surfaces, one along the tube and another along the fitting. These contact surfaces should be angled slightly, providing the optimized stress level to maintain an uncompromising seal. Look for two-ferrule tube fittings shown to consistently deliver this kind of seal integrity.
Additionally, be sure you are using the right kind of materials of construction for your hydrogen system components. If you are working with stainless steel, know that only certain grades can resist the introduction and diffusion of hydrogen molecules into the material—a phenomenon known as hydrogen embrittlement. High-quality 316L stainless steel is formulated to overcome hydrogen embrittlement with enhanced strength and corrosion resistance. Lesser-quality stainless steels with low nickel and chromium content are more susceptible to on-road corrosion and hydrogen embrittlement. Your supplier should be able to help you make sure you are choosing alloys designed to last in your application.
It is also important to remember that traditional “proven” oil and gas fluid system design techniques do not always translate well to the hydrogen market. This especially applies to the sizing of tubing for fluid systems. Hydrogen gas maintains a higher velocity than traditional hydrocarbons, meaning systems can and should be downsized to maximize cost effectiveness and system efficiency. Maintaining smaller diameters for system components also helps further eliminate potential leak points, a critical consideration for hydrogen containment.
Optimize Your Inventory Strategy
For companies focused on scaling and completing new hydrogen infrastructure, there can be nothing worse than a missing component.
Maintaining required part inventory on-site can help hydrogen producers eliminate unnecessary downtime associated with unavailable parts. For this reason, it is worth evaluating supplier partners carefully to not only make sure they have a reliable supply chain, but also to find out if they offer other solutions to avoid missing component-related downtime. For example, some suppliers offer a vendor-managed inventory program, allowing hydrogen operations to maintain stock of numerous fluid system components at all times while only paying for what is needed or used. This can not only help minimize construction stoppages but also avoid lengthy wait times while needed components are shipped.
Take Advantage of Training Opportunities
Because handling hydrogen represents a significant change from traditional hydrocarbon processing activities, it is important for companies scaling hydrogen operations to ensure teams are equipped with the right knowledge to operate and maintain critical infrastructure. To do this, consider taking advantage of available training opportunities from fluid system product providers.
Effective training options should cover the basics of designing, engineering, installing, and maintaining safe, high-performing tubing systems. It should not only create a foundational understanding of hydrogen handling, but also provide in-depth, comprehensive content that helps develop critical competencies related to materials science, tube bending, and proper component selection.
Ultimately, effectively scaling hydrogen production requires a commitment to embracing the right material and component quality, design best practices, and impactful partnerships. When undertaking new infrastructure investment, be sure to work with reliable supplier partners that actively work to meet your needs and help you achieve your growth targets. A cleaner future depends on it.
Chuck Hayes is a 30-year veteran of Swagelok Company, a world leader in the development of fluid system products, assemblies, and services. He has spent the last 25 years developing a wide range of fluid system products, including the past 20 years focused exclusively on fitting technology for alternative fuel applications. Chuck currently holds 7 patents in the U.S. and numerous patents internationally. He is an active member of Canadian Standards Association Group (CSA) committees for both CNG and Hydrogen and was recently the chair of Hydrogen Gas Vehicles (HGV) 4.10 for fittings. Chuck also sits on ISO-TC97 (Technical Committee) and participates in international working groups. He concentrates most of his time on the development of hydrogen mobility solutions for both infrastructure and on-vehicle applications.
