Liquid Hydrogen Applications – LH2

1 — Hydrogen Applications
 World Leader for Cryogenic Membrane Tanks
Since 1968, INVAR® M93 has been delivered to several shipyards (Korea, Japan, China,
Aperam offers a wide range of stainless steel and alloy products well-suited for cryogenic Europe) for the construction of more than 200 LNG carriers.
storage and hydrogen applications.
Aperam austenitic stainless steel grade 304L is already used in small-scale LNG and
For many, hydrogen is the fuel of the future. When turned into electricity, only water is emitted – LH2 storage applications.
making hydrogen a carbon-free fuel. However, one of the main challenges related to hydrogen is its
storage and transport. All of these orders confirm Aperam’s ability to combine precise logistics and quality
Because hydrogen’s density is very low, in order to store and transport it in bulk, it must be either plans for quick solutions that fulfill our customers’ particular requirements.
compressed at high pressure or liquefied. As liquid hydrogen has a higher density, it is the preferred
storage solution for ship transport, embedded fuel tanks, onshore storage, and pipe-in-pipe transfer.
Storing liquid hydrogen must be done at cryogenic temperatures, which in turn require a high-
strength, ductile, fatigue resistant, and weldable material such as stainless steel or alloys.
Supplier for Pipe-in-Pipe Technology
Pipe-in-pipe technology is used to transfer liquid gas at cryogenic temperatures.
High performance with liquid hydrogen at very low temperatures
INVAR® is already used in the transfer lines of subsea, onshore and offshore LNG
Several grades of austenitic stainless steels achieve high strength and maintain their high ductility terminals.
(A% > 30%) when used with hydrogen at cryogenic temperatures. > Easily manage pipe expansion caused by temperature cycling
> Reduce costs by avoiding the need for a thermal compensation system (loops
and bellows), trestles and jetties

The advantages of stainless steel and nickel alloys Austenitic stainless steel grade 316L can be found in LH2 transfer applications.

> Low dilatation coefficient for INVAR® M93 Supplier for Cryogenic Storage
> Nearly constant or, in some cases, slight increase of Yield Strength (YS)
> Significant increase in Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) Aperam austenitic stainless steel grade 304L is already used in small-scale LNG and
> Increase in fatigue limit LH2 storage applications.
> High level of toughness
Aperam has developed an LN series portfolio of products that reduce the thickness of
different applications. Our LN series is already used in trailer cylinders for transporting
liquid gas under pressure and at low temperatures.

2 — Hydrogen Applications
A Wide Offer
Aperam offers a broad portfolio of austenitic grades well-suited for cryogenic applications at very low temperatures, including liquid hydrogen temperature (-253 °C)

Aperam 304L – 2B – 2 mm
Temperature (°C) 0.2% YS (MPa) UTS (MPa) E (%)
20 300 630 54

-163 420 1,260 33

-196 440 1,630 37

-253 500 1,630 33

INVAR M93 Long direction Transverse direction

Conditions Temperature (°C) 0.2% YS (MPa) UTS (MPa) E (%) 0.2% YS (MPa) TS (MPa) E (%)
RT 24 360 520 35 350 510 36

N2 Liq. Temp. -196 680 980 35 700 970 40

H2 Liq. Temp. -253 850 1,140 40 860 1,130 40

He Liq. Temp. -269 870 1,140 40 890 1,130 40

Other grades are available on request: Aperam 304, Aperam 310, Aperam 316, Aperam 316L, Aperam 321.

The evolution of mechanical properties for austenitic stainless steels and nickel based alloys with temperature decrease (from 20°C / 293K to -196°C / 77K to -253°C / 20K)
> Yield Strength (YS) remains almost constant or slightly increases
> Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) increases a lot
> Fatigue limit increases
> Toughness remains very high

Proven expertise on welding applications

Aperam has a dedicated and skilled team to help customers develop hydrogen applications, including:
> Selecting the optimum material solution for your application from a large range of stainless steels
and nickel alloy grades
> Improving the application’s design and advising on welding

3 — Hydrogen Applications
Product range (Stainless Steels) Product range (Nickel Alloys)

> Forms: sheets, blanks, coils, strips, tubes > Forms: cold rolled strips, wires, plates and bars
> Thicknesses: from 0.8 up to 13 mm (consult us for thicknesses < 0.8 mm) > Thickness, diameter, width and length: our size range is based on our production
> Width: up to 2,000 mm according to thickness and grade capabilities.
> Finish: cold rolled, hot rolled according to thickness and grade

Please contact us for the latest information about available grades/forms.

Your Supplier of Choice

Our wide and always-evolving product portfolio is well-positioned to answer our customers’ immediate application
needs. We also maintain an industry leading product pipeline filled with the applications that will help define the
future.

But Aperam is more than just products. We firmly believe that our success ultimately depends on your confidence
in using our products. That’s why we support all our customers through technical assistance and product co-
development.

Our global presence includes 17 sales offices and 14 service centres, meaning no matter your location, Aperam can
provide local, on-the-ground assistance. For more technical requests, our Research Centres serve as a one-stop-
shop for all technical questions relating to the production and use of grades for LH2 applications.

4 — Hydrogen Applications
A Global Company with a Local Presence
Aperam is the leading stainless steel and specialty steels company in South America and the second largest in Europe. We are also a leading manufacturer of high value added specialty
products, including electrical steels and nickel alloys. All of our products can be supplied from Europe or Brazil.

Genk

Isbergues Châtelet Europe

Timóteo Châtelet: Meltshop & Hot-Rolling Mill
Timóteo Genk: Meltshop & Cold-Rolling Mill
Isbergues: Cold-Rolling Mill & R&D Centre
Gueugnon: Cold-Rolling Mill
Imphy: Meltshop & Pierre Chevenard R&D Centre
Imphy
Gueugnon

Brazil
Timóteo: Meltshop, Hot-Rolling Mill,
Cold-Rolling Mill & R&D Centre

Operation facilities
R&D Centre

A Sustainable Company
With Aperam, our customers have selected a partner of choice, offering them responsibly In-line with this mission, Aperam Stainless Europe became the first
produced solutions that are also 100% recyclable and low carbon – solutions that are much stainless steel company to be certified by ResponsibleSteel™,
needed for the sustainable society we strive to live in. At Aperam, we are convinced that true the global sustainability standard for the steel sector.
business success can only come together with social and environmental sustainability and The certification follows an in-depth third-party audit of
we will pursue our strategy to further embed sustainability within all our processes. Aperam’s European operations against exacting Environmental,
Social and Governance (ESG) standards.

5 — Hydrogen Applications
 www.aperam.com
[email protected]
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Contact us

6
— Hydrogen Applications
Aperam Alloys
Aperam Stainless Europe

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