Burckhardt launches oil-free hydrogen compressor

The large high-pressure piston compressor is specifically designed for hydrogen trailer filling and fuel stations with high mass flows.

Burckhardt Compression has launched an oil-free hydrogen compressor for applications that require high mass flows and a discharge pressure of 550 bar, the company announced.

The large high-pressure piston compressor is specifically designed for hydrogen trailer filling and fuel stations with high mass flows. The compressor systems can reach mass flows above 150 kg/h, helping to reduce the required number of deployed compressors per hydrogen trailer filling or fuel station, the company said.

The high-pressure hydrogen compressor has been developed and successfully tested at Burckhardt Compression’s in-house testing facility in Switzerland.

During these tests, the critical components, oil-free high-pressure piston sealing and packings, have proven their mechanical and sealing performance at 550 bar discharge pressure.

The optimized configuration has been selected and the durability tests to prove competitive wear rates are ongoing. With this milestone in the development of oil-free high-pressure piston compressor sealing technology, Burckhardt said it will be able to support the hydrogen economy to scale up the volumes in hydrogen trailer filling and fuel stations in the most cost-efficient way over the installation’s lifetime.