HYSTOR - Composite Electroformed Hydrogen Tank

The market for hydrogen powered vehicles now has greater emphasis due to its low carbon potential and is predicted to grow substantially by 2040\. The recent launch of advanced hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles from Toyota and Hyundai have showcased the potential of the technology and refuelling infrastructure is gradually being rolled out especially in Germany, Japan, California and the UK.

Opportunities exist with the pressurised storage of hydrogen to reduce costs, leakage, user experience during refilling, and weight, all of which would improve hydrogen's viability as a low carbon alternative fuel.

The National Composites Centre in Bristol has been conducting research into hydrogen storage and have identified a variety of areas for improvement as well as how the UK should develop its supply chain in order to serve this emerging need. Ultima Forma is a specialist manufacturer of advanced metal parts using their patented electroforming process. A ZEV2 feasibility study has confirmed this process has the potential to address a number of the issues identified by the NCC including mandrel strength for winding and hydrogen permeability.

In this project, the consortium led by Ultima Forma and supported by Lentus and the NCC will work to define and demonstrate a manufacturing process suitable for use at scale, and assess the economics for scale up.