A Major Technological Breakthrough in China’s Commercial Liquid Hydrogen Storage and Transport Equipment
(4 Jan 2024, Hong Kong) — CIMC Enric Holdings Limited and its subsidiaries (collectively, “CIMC Enric” or “Company”) (Hong Kong stock code: 3899.HK) are pleased to announce that China’s first commercial liquid hydrogen tank carrier developed by the Company’s subsidiary Zhangjiagang CIMC Sanctum Cryogenic Equipment Co., Ltd. (“CIMC Sanctum”) was successfully launched, marking a milestone for CIMC Enric in the expansion of high-end equipment for the hydrogen energy industry chain, and also implying that China has achieved a technological breakthrough in the field of high-efficiency storage and transport equipment for liquid hydrogen.
Liquid hydrogen storage and transport has the advantages of high purity, large capacity, low cost of long-distance transport and high refuelling efficiency. However, the commercial use of liquid hydrogen is an international challenge, and China is almost void of commercial liquid hydrogen storage and transport equipment. Liquid hydrogen is a colourless, odourless, high-energy, low-temperature liquid fuel made from hydrogen liquefaction. Ordinary hydrogen at one atmosphere has a boiling point of -252.78°C and a freezing point of -259.19°C. Therefore, the storage and transport of liquid hydrogen is exceptionally demanding, otherwise it will vaporise and evaporate. To effectively fill the gaps of domestic commercial liquid hydrogen storage and transport equipment, CIMC Enric has accumulated massive design and manufacturing experience in the relevant fields in recent years and has taken the lead in completing the compilation of the first group standard of “Special Technical Requirements for Transportable Vacuum-Insulated Liquid Hydrogen Pressure Vessels”, and has passed the first enterprise standard of “Transportable Vacuum-Insulated Liquid Hydrogen Pressure Vessels” in China, as well as the compliance review of the product design scheme for liquid hydrogen tank carriers. In the first half of 2023, CIMC Enric’s commercial liquid hydrogen storage tanks and containers were successfully launched, and now the Company has made another successful breakthrough in the key area of commercial liquid hydrogen tank carriers. With the continuous progress of the industry’s hydrogen liquefaction process and key equipment technology, it will vigorously drive the rapid growth of global demand for liquid hydrogen and help promote the large-scale application of hydrogen energy.
With the growing global demand for clean energy, hydrogen energy, as a highly efficient, environmentally friendly and renewable energy source, has an ever-expanding range of applications, providing ultra-pure hydrogen for the automotive, electronics, medical, metallurgical, petrochemical and other industries. As an emerging mode of transport, the demand for commercial liquid hydrogen tank carriers is gradually released due to the expedited development of the hydrogen energy industry. Along with the increasing maturity of China’s liquid hydrogen production, storage, transport and application technologies, a favourable environment will be provided for developing commercial liquid hydrogen tank carriers. CIMC Enric will also leverage this first-mover advantage to actively seize the opportunity in the liquid hydrogen industry, adding a solid impetus to the Company’s performance growth.
As a leading supplier of clean energy equipment and a pioneer in the entire hydrogen energy industry chain layout, CIMC Enric has advanced technical strength and over ten years of industry experience in hydrogen energy storage and transport. In the future, the Company will make full efforts in the new track of hydrogen energy on the basis of consolidating the advantages of equipment manufacturing, continuously increasing R&D efforts, being market-oriented and actively improving the core technology, to achieve the localisation and mass production of liquid hydrogen tank carriers and contribute its wisdom and strength to accelerate the application of hydrogen energy on a large scale.
Mr. Yang Xiaohu, Executive Director and President of CIMC Enric, stated, “The successful launch of China’s first commercial liquid hydrogen tank carrier is a major breakthrough for CIMC Enric in the field of liquid hydrogen storage and transport, which not only demonstrates the Company’s strength and determination in technological innovation and product development but also fills the gaps in the field of domestic commercial liquid hydrogen storage and transport equipment. We will take this opportunity to focus on the national energy strategy, accelerate the layout of the whole hydrogen energy industry chain, continue to make efforts in the core key technologies, actively expand domestic and international market opportunities, and contribute value to the transformation and upgrading of the national energy structure.”
