Reliable hydrogen transfer from trailer to cylinder bundle in Friedrichshafen

1 The challenge

Sauerstoffwerk Friedrichshafen GmbH (SWF) requires a reliable solution for transferring hydrogen from trailers into cylinder bundles. Large pressure differences must be controlled without taking the trailer off the grid unnecessarily early or wasting residual quantities. At the same time, operation must not depend on a single unit, as breakdowns or maintenance would immediately affect the supply. A system was therefore required that would ensure both high pressures and high availability. In addition, the solution had to be compact and easy to integrate operationally.

2. the sera solution

sera realised a container solution with two identical compressors with a redundant design. If one unit fails or is being serviced, the second unit automatically takes over operation so that at least 50 % of the delivery capacity is maintained. Due to the high pressure difference, the system has a two-stage design: The trailer can be emptied to a residual pressure of 15 bar, while the cylinder bundles are simultaneously filled to up to 500 bar. The compressors are installed in a compact container, which was supplemented with the necessary filling and emptying fittings by a plant manufacturer. The result is a fully integrated and ready-to-use solution for on-site hydrogen logistics.

3 The customer benefits

• High security of supply thanks to redundant compressor design
• Maximum utilisation of the trailer contents by emptying up to 15 bar residual pressure
• Filling of cylinder bundles up to 500 bar
• Compact, easy-to-integrate container solution

4. brief summary

The project shows how hydrogen logistics with high availability and efficient pressure utilisation can be implemented in a technically clean and reliable manner.