To alleviate the global warming caused by accumulated greenhouse gas emissions, major economies in the world are committed to achieving the goals of “peak carbon emissions” and “carbon neutrality”. Hydrogen, as one of the clean energy sources to replace traditional fossil energy, whose applications are regarded as the main technology direction of the future energy revolution, is therefore gaining increasing attention. Among the many applications, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen refueling stations are in the spotlight of governments and the industry. For instance, both China and Germany released strategic plan on the development in this field.
With the rapid development of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and the continuous growth of hydrogen refueling stations and other infrastructure construction, common problems in hydrogen applications such as easy leakage, hydrogen embrittlement, and high pressure and low temperature working conditions are also becoming more and more prominent, and how to ensure the safety and reliability of hydrogen systems has become one of the key concerns in the industry. Therefore, selection of suitable products with high safety in different applications is the optimal solution for a safe and reliable hydrogen system.
How do FITOK products and services ensure the safety and reliability of hydrogen systems?
Hydrogen embrittlement is a phenomenon in which hydrogen atoms enter the lattice voids of a metal and move diffusely, causing cracks in the material at the defective location after the atoms have recombined or reacted with other substances to form gaseous molecules, resulting in rapid volume expansion leading to cracks at this location. The hydrogen embrittlement cannot be eliminated once it occurs, so it can only be prevented.
Experiments have proven that stainless steels with nickel content greater than 12% and nickel equivalent not less than 28.5% have excellent resistance to hydrogen embrittlement. FITOK has developed the raw material of enhanced-316/316L (designator SH) for hydrogen applications in accordance with industry standards, which has good resistance to hydrogen embrittlement under high pressure and can meet the requirements of various international standards.