Reduced Concerns Over Explosions of Hydrogen Tanks That Could Appear in Every Neighborhood

Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute Develops Liquid Hydrogen Production and Long-Term Storage Technology

Liquid hydrogen production and long-term storage cooler developed by Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Concerns about the 'explosion risk' of hydrogen storage, a major obstacle in the hydrogen economy, have significantly eased. On the 13th, the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) announced that it has developed a ‘liquid hydrogen production and long-term storage technology’ that can safely store liquid hydrogen for extended periods by re-liquefying vaporized hydrogen.

Currently, all of the approximately 60 hydrogen refueling stations nationwide store and supply hydrogen in gaseous form. Because hydrogen gas occupies a large volume, it is compressed at high pressure and stored in sturdy tanks or trailers. The compression level reaches as high as 700 times, raising constant concerns about explosion risks, and there have been many difficulties in long-term storage and transportation of hydrogen.

The alternative to this is ‘liquid hydrogen,’ which is hydrogen gas cooled to an extremely low temperature to liquefy it. Its volume is about 800 times smaller than that of gaseous hydrogen, making storage safer and transportation efficiency more than seven times higher. However, producing liquid hydrogen requires cooling hydrogen gas to an ultra-low temperature (-253 degrees Celsius) and, above all, technology to minimize and prevent hydrogen from evaporating again during long-term storage without loss. This requires consideration of many factors such as safety, effectiveness, and economic feasibility, making the technology highly challenging.

Dr. Ha Dong-woo and Dr. Go Rak-gil’s team applied ultra-low temperature cooling technology accumulated over more than 20 years of research on superconductivity to effectively produce liquid hydrogen and developed ‘Zero Boil-off’ technology that enables safe long-term storage.

Because liquid hydrogen is produced at an extremely low temperature of -253 degrees Celsius, even a slight temperature rise or environmental change causes it to vaporize and escape. In other words, production is important, but storage is even more difficult. This issue becomes more significant during long-term storage or transportation of liquid hydrogen, causing many challenges.

The ‘liquid hydrogen Zero Boil-off’ technology developed by the research team automatically re-liquefies hydrogen vapor inside the liquid hydrogen storage container. Even if hydrogen vaporizes due to temperature changes, it is 100% re-condensed into liquid hydrogen through ultra-low temperature cooling and stored. The team recently demonstrated the technology’s performance by producing about 40 liters of liquid hydrogen and successfully storing it without loss for over two months.

This achievement, which opened the possibility of commercializing liquid hydrogen, is highly significant from an economic perspective. Because liquid hydrogen has a smaller volume than gas and poses no high-pressure risks, the land required for hydrogen storage at refueling stations can be drastically reduced while increasing storage capacity. Additionally, the stability of hydrogen storage is improved, facilitating community acceptance. In terms of transportation, liquid hydrogen can be transported in much larger quantities more safely than gaseous hydrogen, greatly expanding hydrogen distribution nationwide.

Go Rak-gil, principal researcher, said, “Everyone knows the advantages of liquid hydrogen, but the key was the technology to produce it effectively and store it long-term. KERI has solved this difficult problem very simply and effectively by utilizing top-level ultra-low temperature refrigeration technology.” He added, “This technology not only enables safe and efficient production and storage of liquid hydrogen but also makes long-distance transportation and wide-ranging applications possible, significantly contributing to the government’s hydrogen economy activation and carbon neutrality policy realization.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.