Atlas Copco has introduced its H2Y hydraulic booster to the UK market, complementing its offering to manufacturers and energy project developers as well as infrastructure operators who are working with high-pressure hydrogen.
The 100% oil-free compression system is engineered to squeeze hydrogen for the needs of storage, distribution and dispensing, especially when it comes to hydrogen mobility, refuelling stations, caravan filling and various other high-pressure hydrogen applications.
It comes as the UK hydrogen sector enters a decisive phase, moving from strategy and project announcements to actual delivery. Hydrogen is still the core component of many industrial decarbonisation plans, but the success when it comes to individual projects progressively depends on the supporting infrastructure for production, storage, transport and use. Compression is a big part of that infrastructure.
The H2Y offers operators high-pressure efficiency with predictive maintenance, long service periods, closed-loop water cooling and integrated control features. The design also helps to reduce hydrogen losses that occur throughout operating cycles.
According to Business Line Manager Air & Gas Division, Chris Hyde, “the conversation is no longer just about hydrogen’s potential but about how projects can operate safely, reliably and efficiently in real conditions. Compression has a direct impact on that. If hydrogen is going to be used in power generation or industrial applications, it needs to be available at the right pressure and with the right level of control. The H2Y gives UK customers a high-pressure boosting solution designed for those realities, from variable inlet pressure to reduced gas losses and long-term serviceability.”
The H2Y range can be customized for discharge pressures of almost 1,000 bar(g) subject to the application, making it a good fit for hydrogen refuelling stations and various other uses where high-pressure performance, dependability, and secure gas handling are important. It has been designed to accommodate varying inlet pressure and flow rates, enabling operators to react to changing production and demand circumstances.
Operators will benefit from the H2Y hydraulic booster with high-pressure performance and features which add to day-to-day reliability, such as long service intervals, predictive maintenance, closed-loop water cooling, and integrated control options, as well as no gas blow-off on start and stop.
All this leads to lowering the amount of hydrogen that is deliberately released during operating cycles. The system can also be packaged as a plug-and-play or containerized solution, enabling easier integration when it comes to new or emerging hydrogen projects.
Atlas Copco already endorses hydrogen production, transportation and distribution projects with a broader portfolio of oil-free piston compressors, gas compressors, hydraulic boosters, dryers, filters, chillers, control systems and tracking technologies.
Hyde further adds, “Hydrogen compression is not new to Atlas Copco. What is changing is the market around it. More companies are looking at hydrogen as a practical route to lower-carbon energy, and they need partners who understand both the technology and the process it supports.”
Depending on the project, hydrogen offered by Atlas Copco can be adapted to suit the needs, from production and storage to transportation, distribution and eventual use. This capability is boosted in the UK by the implementation of the H2Y, which gives operators building refuelling infrastructure, mobility applications or other high-pressure hydrogen systems the opportunity to utilise compression technology which can be customized to meet the standard pressure, flow, control, cooling, safety as well as service requirements of the application.