New process reduces cost and weight of composite hydrogen storage cylinders by 15 percent

2021-07-30 10:23:42 3G Carbon-M 37

New process reduces cost and weight of

 composite hydrogen storage cylinders by 15 percent


The composite pressure vessel is a key storage system for the realization of hydrogen-powered vehicles. These cylindrical hydrogen storage cylinders are capable of maintaining high pressures of up to 700 bar and storing hydrogen for fuel cell powered electric vehicles such as trucks, buses, trains and coaches. The main cost driver for the hydrogen storage bottle is the carbon fiber material itself, which accounts for more than 50% of the total cost. Automation specialist Cevotec has developed an industrial solution to apply a carbon fiber patch to the dome area of a Type IV high-pressure hydrogen storage bottle, which reportedly results in a 15% savings in material, weight and cost.

图片关键词

         Cevotec's fiber patch lay-up process for composite tanks

     Image credit | Cevotec

Cevotec (Unterhaching, Germany) reports that it has developed an industrial solution to improve the storage efficiency of Type IV composite hydrogen storage cylinders in hydrogen-powered electric vehicles (ev), reducing carbon fiber consumption by up to 15 percent while maintaining the same mechanical properties.

Cevotec's solution is to apply a carbon fiber patch to the dome area of the hydrogen storage bottle, thus replacing the high-angle spiral layer (HAHL) in the typical fiber winding pattern. Using fiber patch (FPP) technology to reinforce the dome area of the hydrogen storage bottle reportedly saves 15% in material, weight and cost, and reduces total manufacturing time by 20%. by using FPP dome reinforcements, manufacturers need less material for the subsequent fiber winding process, Cevotec said.

Cevotec's fully automated, quality-controlled SAMBA FPP system first places the reinforcing fiber patch directly on the dome area of a standard liner. The repaired liner is then transferred to the fiber winding process; SAMBA requires no additional post-processing. The winding process is then adjusted to eliminate the HAHL layer for a faster, less material-intensive process that increases the overall line capacity of the hydrogen storage bottle, further improving the return on investment and production economics.