Meet H2 Clipper’s Pipe-Within-A-Pipe™ revolutionising ‘last mile’ delivery of pure hydrogen
Such lines run below ground under virtually every major city in the world. Having a reliable way to safely utilise them to distribute pure hydrogen effectively solves the problem of distributing fuel cell grade hydrogen...
“Solving the ‘last mile’ delivery problem is a big deal,” says Joe Powell, former Chief Scientist for Shell Oil Company, who led Shell’s R&D programs and served as Chair of the US Department of Energy’s Hydrogen Technical Advisory Committee before joining H2 Clipper’s Advisory Board in 2021. “A major impediment to the commercial viability of hydrogen is the need for better solutions to the challenge of efficiently conveying hydrogen to distribution and dispensing sites and ultimately the end user, including factories, warehouses, transport vehicles, and perhaps even individual homes. H2 Clipper’s innovative technology can potentially provide a safe, efficient, and lower-cost way to do this.”
The novel approach covered by the patent utilises flexible pipe rated for hydrogen use by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) with a 50 year useful life at 2500 psi. That pipe is located inside a slightly larger diameter one, referred to as a ‘safety pipe’ that runs an inert gas in between the two pipes to constantly sweep for hydrogen molecules. With a capacity to preserve purity levels of 99.7% or higher, the new technology will help to ensure the required purity levels needed for use of hydrogen in fuel cell electric cars, buses, trucks, and locomotives.
