Hydrogenious demos LOHC supply chain of Green H2 for mobility in Germany
German firm Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies has implemented a viable solution that solves surface area requirements and safe storage of large volumes in hydrogen refuelling stations. The company has recently announced the supply of green H2 via liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC) to the Erlangen station operated by H2 Mobility Germany.
The hydrogen filling stations that have been predominant up to now, supplied exclusively with compressed hydrogen, have limited storage capacities and a high space requirement. This is smaller for liquid hydrogen refueling stations, but hydrogen losses occur during longer storage periods.
Hydrogenious's solution for the future on a small footprint and with particularly safe, simple handling of the hydrogen utilizes liquid organic material benzyltoluene, a well-established heat transfer medium in the industry.
Benzyltoluene's properties are ideal used as a hydrogen carrier, in which green hydrogen produced via PEM electrolyzer at the company's headquarters in Erlangen is stored before transporting it to refuelling stations.
The company claims that the liquid carrier boasts safety benefits due to its flame retardant and non-explosive properties, along with a high volumetric energy density and handling advantages akin to fossil fuel using existing infrastructure. After the process dehydrogenation, the benzyltoluene LOHC can be reused several times to bind H2.
"With our LOHC-based solution, hydrogen refuelling stations can be supplied with hydrogen easily, safely and in an area-optimized manner, especially in densely populated, urban areas. With this project named 'H2Sektor', we are laying the foundation for large-scale hydrogen refueling stations, which are needed especially for commercial vehicles and the operators of large hydrogen-based truck and bus fleets, thus supporting the decarbonization of the mobility sector", explains CEO and founder Daniel Teichmann.
He added that from the operation of the very first LOHC-supplied refueling station, Hydrogenious will gain valuable practical knowledge for the production, transport and supply of green hydrogen for mobility applications.
"Together with other hydrogen off-takers from industry and transport, the Erlangen filling station will become part of our transregional supply chain for green hydrogen, which we are developing with European partners, for example, as part of the Important Projects of Common European Interest", he said.
For the LOHC transport, Hydrogenious uses a tanker truck consisting of 5 tank chambers with a total gross capacity of 45,000 liters and allows simultaneous filling and emptying of the LOHC loaded with hydrogen and the LOHC unloaded. Two pump-measuring systems with mass counter allow simultaneous receiving and discharging of the products, according to the company.
