[ gas cooling ]
KUSTEC Eagle 45 with R744 refrigerant ( left ) and KUSTEC Eagle 145 with R744 refrigerant ( right )
can produce around 10 per month in its current facility . With an order pipeline of 40 units , this production capacity will become stretched if demand increases . ° LAUDA stands ready to scale up manufacturing capacity as the market develops further . hydrocarbons such as propane ( R290 ) or natural refrigerants such as carbon dioxide ( R744 ) as the refrigerant gas . These changes will futureproof cooling equipment from any potential F-Gas bans that may emerge in the EU or elsewhere .
Electrolysers are commonly used to produce hydrogen onsite for hydrogen refuelling stations . They also require chilling to remove process heat and to achieve effective drying of the hydrogen gas as it leaves the electrolyser . In addition to ° LAUDA ’ s HRS cooler manufacturing operations in Germany , they produce the Ultracool product range in Spain . These process coolers are ideal for integration into electrolyser systems .
Low GWP refrigerants
Achieving -40 ° C requires the use of a lowtemperature refrigerant gas . R404A can be used for HRS chillers since it can achieve -45 ° C , but it has a global warming potential ( GWP ) of 3,922 .
In Austria , KUSTEC has been producing hydrogen coolers for refuelling stations using CO 2 as the refrigerant gas for several years . CO 2 is commonly used as the refrigerant gas to cool supermarket freezer cabinets . It was also considered for use in cars for mobile air conditioning systems , but R1234YF now dominates this application .
In the KUSTEC hydrogen gas cooling system , the CO 2 is liquefied in a compression cycle . This cold liquid CO 2 is fed via insulated pipes to the hydrogen dispenser . A heat exchanger transfers the cold energy from the liquid CO 2 to the
R449A is a fourth-generation HFO refrigerant gas with a lower GWP of 1,397 which has been used for low-temperature refrigeration for some years . To completely avoid the use of F-Gases , hydrogen gas coolers can be designed to use
Hydrogen charging point . Image © Resato International BV
Hydrogen Tech World | Issue 16 | June 2024 49