Manufacturing Cost Analysis of Novel Steel/Concrete Composite Vessel for Stationary Storage of High-Pressure Hydrogen
- ORNL
A novel, low-cost, high-pressure, steel/concrete composite vessel (SCCV) technology for stationary storage of compressed gaseous hydrogen (CGH2) is currently under development at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) sponsored by DOE s Fuel Cell Technologies (FCT) Program. The SCCV technology uses commodity materials including structural steels and concretes for achieving cost, durability and safety requirements. In particular, the hydrogen embrittlement of high-strength low-alloy steels, a major safety and durability issue for current industry-standard pressure vessel technology, is mitigated through the use of a unique layered steel shell structure. This report presents the cost analysis results of the novel SCCV technology. A high-fidelity cost analysis tool is developed, based on a detailed, bottom-up approach which takes into account the material and labor costs involved in each of the vessel manufacturing steps. A thorough cost study is performed to understand the SCCV cost as a function of the key vessel design parameters, including hydrogen pressure, vessel dimensions, and load-carrying ratio. The major conclusions include: The SCCV technology can meet the technical/cost targets set forth by DOE s FCT Program for FY2015 and FY2020 for all three pressure levels (i.e., 160, 430 and 860 bar) relevant to the hydrogen production and delivery infrastructure. Further vessel cost reduction can benefit from the development of advanced vessel fabrication technologies such as the highly automated friction stir welding (FSW). The ORNL-patented multi-layer, multi-pass FSW can not only reduce the amount of labor needed for assembling and welding the layered steel vessel, but also make it possible to use even higher strength steels for further cost reductions and improvement of vessel structural integrity. It is noted the cost analysis results demonstrate the significant cost advantage attainable by the SCCV technology for different pressure levels when compared to the industry-standard pressure vessel technology. The real-world performance data of SCCV under actual operating conditions is imperative for this new technology to be adopted by the hydrogen industry for stationary storage of CGH2. Therefore, the key technology development effort in FY13 and subsequent years will be focused on the fabrication and testing of SCCV mock-ups. The static loading and fatigue data will be generated in rigorous testing of these mock-ups. Successful tests are crucial to enabling the near-term impact of the developed storage technology on the CGH2 storage market, a critical component of the hydrogen production and delivery infrastructure. In particular, the SCCV has high potential for widespread deployment in hydrogen fueling stations.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 1072154
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL/TM-2013/113; HT0201000; CEHT016
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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