The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has selected Shell-led consortium to demonstrate the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of large-scale liquid hydrogen (LH2) storage tank.
For the future energy system, it is of crucial importance that an effective hydrogen supply chain is established. This includes the ability to transport hydrogen between countries via pipelines and ships.
The consortium is to demonstrate that a large-scale LH 2 tank, with a capacity ranging from 20,000 to 100,000 cubic metres, is both feasible and cost-competitive at import and export terminals. They will collaborate to develop a technically innovative and economically viable concept design for the large-scale LH 2 storage tank.
Additionally, the group will engineer and construct a scaled-down demonstration tank that will be tested to validate the feasibility of the design and the thermal model for commercial-scale design.
The DOE has awarded $6 million to finance the project. Shell and CB&I Storage Solutions will also both provide an additional $3 million each. To sum up, the total project fund is $12 million.
The consortium for LH2
The partners, besides Shell, include McDermott ‘s CB&I Storage Solutions, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, GenH2, and the University of Houston. Specifically, the roles are:
“A cost-effective, long-range hydrogen supply chain can have a transformative impact in shaping a sustainable future for energy,” said Yuri Sebregts of Shell. “Our consortium recognizes that this project can become a cornerstone in making that future possible. It’s a sizable engineering challenge—but we have the right people, partners and outlook to deliver this first-of-its-kind LH 2 storage technology.”
This project wants to advance the U.S. as a global energy leader in LH 2 -based international supply chain development. It also wants to facilitate the commercialization of both blue and green hydrogen export opportunities.
In conclusion, this will support the goals of the DOE H2@Scale and Hydrogen Shot initiatives, bringing stakeholders together to reduce the cost of clean hydrogen.