The Hydrogen Business Project "hydrogen-fired absorption chiller/heater" and "liquid hydrogen pressure booster pump
EBARA’s all-out effort to become the world’s first in hydrogen energy - Hydrogen Business Project -
The Future Challenge of Spreading Hydrogen
Hydrogen. Hydrogen is one of the leading next-generation energy sources that does not emit CO2.
The world is taking on the challenge of Producing, Transporting, and Using hydrogen, striving for a future where hydrogen is used everywhere as a replacement for conventional fuels (LNG, kerosene, gasoline, and city gas).
We launched the Hydrogen Business Project under the direct supervision of our President in August 2021. This is a company-wide effort in which all EBARA Group companies with experience in the development and operation of products handling all kinds of liquids and gases, will work together to consolidate their technologies. We continue to develop a range of world first hydrogen products and technologies. Let us introduce some of them.
Succeeded in developing the world's first centrifugal pumps for liquid hydrogen
One is a liquid hydrogen booster pump. The Japanese government is promoting plans to liquefy hydrogen produced overseas to reduce the volume to 1/800 and transport it to Japan where it will be used.
When transporting liquefied hydrogen, it is necessary to energize the liquid prior to transportation. As a result, this process requires pumps. However, as there was no previous need for them, centrifugal pumps that could transfer large amounts of cryogenic liquid hydrogen at -253°C did not exist.
We took on this challenge by applying the technology used in booster pumps for LNG (liquefied natural gas that is liquefied at -162°C). Liquid hydrogen is not only lower in temperature than LNG, but it is also an extremely delicate liquid that easily vaporizes due to its low density. We have succeeded in developing the world's first centrifugal pump for liquid hydrogen by modifying the design to one specifically for liquid hydrogen.
We are currently working with customers and partners around the world to prepare for its implementation into a new hydrogen society. By connecting the hydrogen supply chain in Japan and around the world with this pump, we aspire to play an important role in realizing a hydrogen society.
Completed the world's first absorption chiller-heaters for hydrogen
Another world first is a device that uses hydrogen, and which may still seem a little futuristic. It is an absorption chiller-heater fueled by hydrogen.
Absorption chiller-heaters are heat-source devices used for cooling/heating that mainly use city gas as fuel and provide comfortable air-conditioned spaces for large facilities such as buildings, factories, and airports. They are common devices, but changing their fuel from city gas to hydrogen is far from easy. Compared to city gas, hydrogen is characterized by a higher combustion rate, higher flame temperature, and wider flammable range, making it prone to accidents in the event of a leak. For this reason, in addition to safety devices for city gas, we have designed a "hydrogen-specific" safety device that prevents backfire in the piping and injects inert gas into the hydrogen piping during shutdown to prevent unforeseen accidents, thereby developing the world's first hydrogen gas fired absorption chiller / heater.
Contributing to a future society that "uses" hydrogen
These new absorption chiller-heaters now only require the establishment of a hydrogen supply chain to enable hydrogen to become an indispensable part of our lives. With efforts to produce and transport hydrogen still in the mainstream, how can hydrogen be used in our day-to-day lives? This project is also working to explore further development in this area.。
These world firsts are all a result of our all-out efforts in this project to explore the possibilities of this new, and still unknown source of energy, hydrogen. This is a significant challenge for EBARA, who started out developing pumps and other rotating machinery, to contribute to society in the future.
