POSCO and Energyn to localize production of hydrogen storage tanks

In collaboration with Energyn, a Korean business that produces gas containers, POSCO has localized the production of hydrogen storage tanks.

In order to extend the infrastructure for hydrogen charging stations, hydrogen storage tanks are a crucial component. However, FIBA Technologies, a global supplier of gas containment equipment with headquarters in the United States, presently dominates the Korean hydrogen storage tank industry.

In collaboration with Energyn, POSCO aimed to completely localize the manufacture of hydrogen storage tanks. The material for hydrogen tanks was crucial, as they required ultra-thick steel that met the specifications of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and had a thickness of more than 400 mm (ASME).

Using the POSCO Mega Caster (PosMC), a machine capable of producing semi-finished steel materials with the thickest thickness of 700 mm in the world, POSCO created “Greenable H2,” a steel substance specifically designed for hydrogen storage containers.

With the help of its technology, Energyn can securely control pressures as high as 6000 bar. It is significantly larger than high-pressure control technology for a hydrogen filling station or a general hydrogen vehicle (700 bar) (900 bar). A hydrogen storage container cannot blow up because to Energyn’s wire-winding technique. A hydrogen storage container’s interior and exterior are wound layer by layer with steel wire using a process called wire winding to ensure that all areas of the container experience the same level of compressive stress.

In August, POSCO and Energyn created a hydrogen storage container, and in September, the ASME and Korea Gas Safety Corp. certified it. The two businesses collaboratively produced the world’s only hydrogen storage container that can resist pressure of 100 megapascals (MPa). Its hydrogen storage capacity is 1,000 liters, which is twice as much as that of imported goods.