Partnership to implement hydrogen cooling solution

The partnership looks to solve existing logistical issues and allow liquid hydrogen fuel to be delivered at scale.

Plug Power Inc., a leading provider of hydrogen engines and fueling solutions enabling e-mobility, showcased a partnership with Washington State University’s (WSU) Hydrogen Properties for Energy Research (HYPER) Labs to develop cryogenic hydrogen cooling technology.

This is an innovation that will enable hydrogen to be used as a fuel in on-road mobility fuel cell applications. The proposed sub-cooling solution will enable improvements to the transportation and storage of liquid hydrogen to fueling stations.

In the future, this innovation will improve the operational efficiency of GenFuel liquid hydrogen architecture, which is critical for the high-volume hydrogen fueling needed to support the burgeoning on-road fuel cell electric vehicle (FCV) market.

The technology being developed allows compressed hydrogen to swirl in a vortex, where a catalytic reaction unique to hydrogen causes cooling at cryogenic temperatures. Optimizing the reaction to operate with supercritical hydrogen has the potential to reduce the cost and efficiency of small, distributed liquid hydrogen systems as well as aid in low boil-off and heat mitigation challenges.

“In the near future, demand from the fast-growing FCV market will outpace the current hydrogen fuel supply because of issues related to transportation, infrastructure, and storage. That’s why Plug Power is taking the necessary action to develop the technology that will address these future issues now,” said Andy Marsh, CEO at Plug Power. “This important research will also play a part in advancing the on-road FCV market adoption by lowering operational costs, which make FCVs not only clean and efficient, but affordable for organizations as well.”

”Plug Power is the leading consumer of liquid hydrogen in North America, which is one of many reasons why we’re so excited to improve the efficiency of their liquid hydrogen systems,” said Dr. Jacob Leachman, director of the HYPER laboratory at Washington State University.