The following languages are fully supported on our offering of international sites, including detailed product information and e-commerce funcitonality.
One of the most formidable challenges in developing safe, reliable, and leak-tight solutions is the nature of hydrogen. Hydrogen is a small-molecule gas that can escape through the tiniest crevices and diffuse into the materials designed to contain them. For all applications, a leak-tight connection and protection from embrittlement are vital.
Swagelok has over 75 years of experience and expertise in containing and managing hazardous fluids and small-molecule gases under pressure. Our proprietary products, solutions, and services are conceived, designed, and delivered specifically to meet and exceed the needs of companies pursuing environmentally safe and sustainable energy business opportunities. As a result, we are exceptionally qualified to help our customers meet and overcome the fluid system (liquid and gas) challenges unique to the Clean Energy industry worldwide.
Hydrogen Applications
We help enable the growth of sustainable energy in the following applications:
Traditional Swagelok Tube Fittings have been used for decades in Hydrogen applications, from the research lab, electrolysis applications, on-vehicle applications and fill stations and dispensers in both CNG and Hydrogen applications.
Swagelok FK Series Tube Fittings utilise a simple, two-piece design, consisting of a female fitting body and preassembled cartridge containing the male nut and colour-coded front and back ferrules, allowing for easy assembly and fast installation time.
Find dependable ball valves for on-vehicle or dispenser use, check valves for excess flow prevention in on-vehicle applications, relief valves for purge and bleed applications, and instrument manifolds that minimize potential leak points in refueling stations.
We can build customised assemblies for you, such as test setups, refuelling panels, pressure-reducing panels, dispensing panels, and assemblies that integrate into dispensers, compressors, electrolysers and fuel lines.
Our Field Engineers can evaluate your system for leaks and optimisation. We help minimise costs, fluid system downtime and help you avoid potential safety hazards or environmental risks.
With over 75 years of experience, we can train you on the fundamentals of handling hydrogen, working with products designed for hydrogen, and everything in between!
Material Selection Matters
The success of hydrogen depends on specifying and selecting reliable components with the performance characteristics to last in this challenging application.
Hydrogen embrittlement is the phenomenon where hydrogen moves into cubic lattice network walls of the material, unpacking its molecular bonds and compromising the material's integrity. In effect, hydrogen embrittlement may cause some grades of stainless steel to act more like cast iron: very brittle and susceptible to cracking. As such, it can impact specific compositions of SS 316, a widespread alloy used for fittings, valves and tubing, including those mistakenly recommended for hydrogen applications.
SS 316, with a higher concentration of chromium and nickel, can defend against hydrogen embrittlement by promoting greater ductility and corrosion resistance.
Performance Under Pressure
Hydrogen storage is a high-pressure business; the higher the pressure, the greater number of hydrogen molecules contained and the higher the energy density. Today's hydrogen vehicles store the gas at either 350 bar or 700 bar, depending on the range requirements. Many short-range fleets, like city buses, utilise 350 bar, knowing that each vehicle can return to a central hub every night for refuelling. In longer-range applications like trucking, 700 bar provides the range necessary to transport goods over large distances without stopping to refuel.
Higher pressures require higher performance components, and traditional options are not applicable. Swagelok designed the FK-Series to contain hydrogen stored as high as 1375 bar.
