Burckhardt Developing Hydrogen Compression Technology

Burckhardt Compression is working with GRZ Technologies to develop hydrogen compression technology for fuel stations, hydrogen energy storage systems and other applications.

The Static Hydrogen Compressor uses thermal active metal hydrides and operates without moving parts. It’s based on the GRZ’s HYCO laboratory scale metal hydrides compression solution that is already in use for small amounts of hydrogen. Burckhardt Compression said it will scale up the solution for the new, strongly developing market of hydrogen re-fueling stations and hydrogen energy storage systems. These compressors will be designed for high-pressure solutions of 200, 350 and 700 bar and are hermetically sealed to operate without any gas leakage. As the compressor is also completely oil-free, it can be used for hydrogen energy storage purposes, the company said. Furthermore, thanks to its minimal moving parts design, this new compressor technology will be low maintenance.

“The increasing demand for gases like hydrogen as a carbon-neutral energy source creates promising market opportunities for Burckhardt Compression,” said Marcel Pawlicek, CEO Burckhardt Compression. “We are therefore monitoring and exploring these developments very closely and initiating research activities in the relevant areas of application at such an early stage.”