A special stainless steel for liquid hydrogen application produced by TISCO got certified, as the first of this kind in China, making the company a unique supplier of such material nationwide. TISCO is to deliver the special stainless steel to a hydrogen energy project that is being constructed in China and will be the biggest one in Asia, following the contract with a worldwide biggest hydrogen producer and leading company in hydrogen energy facility. The successfully development of the stainless steel for liquid hydrogen by TISCO fills the domestic gap and promote the forming and accomplishing of related material standard.
Hydrogen energy has high combustion calorific value, produces zero pollution, is abundant in reserves, and is easy to transform from and to other kinds of energy sources. Those features make it ideal for green, efficient and sustainable development. In recent years, the hydrogen energy industry has seen a rapid development globally. With the "dual carbon" development goal, hydrogen energy, as a carrier of zero carbon energy, has attracted more and more attention in China. As one of the major hydrogen-producer, China inputs continuous investment in technology research and industrial capital, and brings its hydrogen energy industry into a promising prospect.
Hydrogen energy is mainly stored and transported in either one of the two states, i.e. pressurized gas or low-temperature liquid. Liquid hydrogen is so dense that 1 cubic meter liquid hydrogen is equivalent to 800 cubic meter gas hydrogen. Compared with pressurized storage and transportation, liquid one outstrips in terms of low transportation cost, high purity and easy measurement. Liquid hydrogen is more suitable for large-scale storage and transportation. At present, 70% of the developed countries store and transport liquid hydrogen. China, however, uses liquid hydrogen in very limited fields like aerospace rather than wider civil application, due to the lack of research, theoretical support, and unified standards for materials for liquid hydrogen application, such as the microstructure and performance of the metal in low temperature.
Aiming at the hydrogen energy industry, TISCO cooperated with relevant national departments and manufacturing enterprises, actively participated in the design and development of materials, and promoted the formulation of relevant material standards. After one year, the special stainless steel material (in forms of plates, tubes and profiles) for liquid hydrogen containers were successfully developed, with the chemical composition and ultra-low temperature performance (at -269℃) completely meeting the harsh requirements of liquid hydrogen environment. It is a remarkable contribution to the green transformation and energy upgrading in China.