【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Equipment】1358–2023: China’s first civilian 40-cubic-meter liquid hydrogen tank truck was developed successfully

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On December 28, 2023, China’s first civilian 40-cubic-meter liquid hydrogen tank truck was developed successfully, and a product launch event was held. The successful development of this equipment marks significant progress in China’s efforts related to key technical devices for the production, storage, transportation, and refueling of liquid hydrogen, as well as research on safety aspects. It indicates that substantial steps have been taken toward the practical application of hydrogen energy technology in China. The development of this equipment is supported by the project \"Research on Key Equipment and Safety Aspects for the Production, Storage, Transportation, and Refueling of Liquid Hydrogen\", which is part of the key research program \"Renewable Energy and Hydrogen Energy Technologies\". This project is led by Beijing Zhongke Fuhai Cryogenic Technology Co., Ltd., with Xie Xiujuan, a researcher at the Institute of Physical Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, serving as the project leader. This project aims to establish a national innovation chain for key technologies and equipment related to the production, storage, transportation, hydrogen refueling, and safety aspects of liquid hydrogen, in order to meet the urgent demands arising from the widespread use of hydrogen-fueled commercial vehicles in China for the production, distribution, and refueling of hydrogen fuel. To date, key equipment such as domestic heavy-duty hydrogen turbine expanders, integrated control process packages, and large-scale horizontal high-vacuum cryogenic tanks with a capacity of 5 tons per day has been developed. Construction of the demonstration project’s liquid hydrogen plant has commenced in full swing. It is reported that China’s first civilian 40-cubic-meter liquid hydrogen tank truck was designed and manufactured by Zhangjiagang CIMC Sintain Cryogenic Equipment Co., Ltd. The project team overcame challenges such as a short development timeline, a lack of basic data, and the absence of design and manufacturing standards. It successfully addressed key technical issues including the overall process design and safety structure design for 40-cubic-meter liquid hydrogen tankers, the efficient use of high-performance insulation materials, the welding of ultra-low temperature materials, as well as technologies for achieving and maintaining a high vacuum level. Among them, the \"Mobile Vacuum Insulated Liquid Hydrogen Pressure Vessel\" standard developed by Zhangjiagang CIMC Sintain Cryogenic Equipment Co., Ltd. is China’s first enterprise standard for liquid hydrogen tank trucks, and it has been approved and recorded by the Sub-Technical Committee on Mobile Pressure Vessels under the National Technical Committee for Standardization of Boilers and Pressure Vessels ； In addition, related work has also contributed to the formulation of the group standard \"Special Technical Requirements for Mobile Vacuum Insulated Liquid Hydrogen Pressure Vessels\".