Composite hydrogen tank aims to decarbonise heavy-duty road transport

Composites experts from the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) worked alongside two SME manufacturers on the 12-month project, which was funded by the HVM Catapult. AMRC were joined in the endeavour by Crossfield Excalibur, a specialist in tooling design for rotationally-moulded parts, and Elite Ground Support Services, which provides rotational, extrusion and compression mouldings for the automotive sector.

Zeeshan Qureshi, lead research engineer at the AMRC Composite Centre said: “Working closely with our two chosen SMEs, we are on a mission to help accelerate the UK hydrogen storage supply chain and enable rapid production of hydrogen pressure vessels through automated design, manufacture and validation to meet net zero targets and to help push forward the decarbonisation of road transportation nationwide.”

The team designed, manufactured and tested a Type 4 cylindrical hydrogen pressure vessel made from filament wound carbon-fibre over a thermoplastic liner. The tank has been designed for the automotive sector and has the capacity to hold 40-litres of hydrogen at 350-bar.