Jun MAEDA
CP Hydrogen Business Project
Elliott Group (hereinafter referred to as Elliott), belonging to EBARA Energy Company, provides compressors, turbines, cryogenic products, and related solutions. These products and solutions are used in a wide range of industries, including the oil and gas market (refinery, petrochemical, LNG, etc.) and support energy infrastructure worldwide.
Elliott designs, manufactures and sells turbo compressors (Fig. 1: example of a centrifugal type) as equipment for compressing and transporting gases used for energy and chemical feedstocks.
Fig. 1 Typical configuration of centrifugal compressors
Hydrogen, which is expected to be a clean energy carrier and chemical feedstocks to replace fossil resources, is in a gaseous state at room temperature. When hydrogen gas is transported from the production area to the consumption area by pipeline or chemically synthesized into fuels or plastics, it is necessary to boost the pressure of the hydrogen gas, which varies depending on the application (from a few to several hundred bar).
Hydrogen gas compressors are an essential product for the social implementation of a large-scale hydrogen infrastructure. Elliott has delivered over 300 hydrogen gas compressors to oil and gas plants (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2 Example of hydrogen compressor appearance
Taking advantage of this extensive experience and Elliott's technology, we have developed the Flex-Op hydrogen compressor (Fig. 3) with a rearranged equipment layout. We provide solutions for a new hydrogen society. The Flex-Op hydrogen compressor is characterized by its arrangement, which allows up to four barrel compressors to be operated in flexible combinations via a single multi-pinion gearbox, as shown in Fig. 4. The Flex-Op can arrange up to 40 impellers in an installation space that can accommodate up to 10 impellers in a conventional tandem arrangement. Compared to other fuels, hydrogen gas, which has a low molecular weight, low viscosity, and low weight, can be boosted with fewer units, contributing to lower initial costs and significant installation space savings.
Fig. 3 Image of Flex-Op hydrogen compressor
Fig. 4 Conventional arrangement and Flex-Op arrangement (Example of 4-Body train)
As for hydrogen compressors, we are currently developing a high-purity hydrogen compressor for large-scale hydrogen liquefaction and hydrogen gas transport. We are promoting innovative development to speed up, miniaturize, and reduce the power consumption of compressor rotors.
In addition to hydrogen services, we will contribute to society by providing equipment, services, and solutions that handle fluids such as ammonia and CO2 in order to respond to new social changes such as CCUS (Carbon dioxide Capture, Utilization, and Storage) and geothermal power generation.