Lloyds Register has granted “Approval in Principle” to LATTICE Technology for a 12,500 m3 ship cargo tank for liquid hydrogen (LH2) which certifies that the tank system satisfies all formal safety requirements.
The new Lattice Pressure Vessel (LPV) technology is made use of by the LH2 containment. This is a “Type C equivalent”, modular, volume efficient, fully scalable pressure vessel, that allows for significant internal pressure regardless of tank size.
Already in use in commercial applications, the Lattice Pressure Vessel technology for liquid natural gas (LNG) has been developed by LATTICE Technology (LT) and KAIST University. The company had recently made another breakthrough with Approval in Principle for a large liquid hydrogen cargo tank for ship applications. Although there are significant technical and operational challenges, large scale transport of liquid hydrogen by sea will become a major business in the future.
With ship voyages often taking many days, containments must be designed for build-up of internal gas pressure. The approved design for a 12,500 m3 tank with 2 bar internal pressure and vacuum insulation is much larger than any previously proposed concept representing a major step forward for large scale, liquid hydrogen transportation.
The design of a vacuum insulation system posed a challenge for the application, explained Professor Daejun Chang at KAIST. It has not been possible till now, to use vacuum insulation for large, cryogenic gas tanks. With a new concept for vacuum tanks (the so-called vacuum cargo containment system or v-CCS©), this obstacle has been overcome by LT and KAIST, which can be used for insulating tanks of any size. Professor Pål Bergan, CTO of LT, said, “We feel that our technology will be a key enabler for an environmentally friendly, future hydrogen society.”
A technology suitable for both small and large-scale storage and transport of any type of pressurized and cryogenic gas, such as LH2, LNG, LPG, CO2, nitrogen, as well as other industrial gases, has been developed by the company in less than 9 years, emphasized Mr. Park. To provide cost effective, smart solutions for customers, LT is well prepared for international, commercial operations, having offices in South Korea, Norway and Australia.
Our technology for liquid hydrogen is being tested with a series of LH2 tanks and development projects addressing shipping infrastructure of liquid hydrogen from Australia and New Zealand to Asia. We are preparing small LH2 fuel tanks for drones and trucks, as well as tanks spanning in size from small to very large for ships and land terminals. We expect these developments to be the key in preparing for a future with emission free fuels in the transport sector,
- said Mr. Park. PWKD28082020
