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HYDROGEN SEALS

Hydrogen Seals: make the safe choice.

You can rely on Saint-Gobain for safe and effective sealing in the rapidly expanding and extremely challenging area of hydrogen mobility. Our long experience and proven expertise will ensure you meet existing and future standards relating to hydrogen safety and prevention of leakage and permeation.

Trust in our wide knowledge.

Based on extensive material studies and design testing in multiple applications, we continue to develop resilient solutions for harsh hydrogen conditions. Our specialist knowledge covers both hydrogen internal combustion engine (H2ICE) and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) technologies.

Resist hydrogen's aggressive challenges.

Whether it’s in gaseous or liquid form, hydrogen is difficult to seal and keep under control. As well as being fast-moving, hard to contain and potentially explosive, hydrogen can have aggressive and damaging effects on materials in continuous contact with it. Seal materials must be carefully selected with the right tribology and other characteristics to resist leakage, permeation and chemical attack. For polymers, this includes resistance to RGD (rapid gas decompression). For metals, it includes resistance to embrittlement. In all cases, we must avoid any weaknesses in the material’s surface structure which might allow hydrogen to permeate.

Prepare for extreme conditions.

To make hydrogen more controllable, and reduce container volumes, it is often kept at high pressures (typically 350 to 700 bar) or cryogenic temperatures (sometimes as low as -256⁰C). This makes further demands on the seal materials and affects hydrogen’s behavior toward them. The most suitable materials for a specific application will depend largely on the pressure, the temperature, the form of hydrogen (gas or liquid) and the concentration (ranging from hydrogen residues to 100% hydrogen).


high pressure	cryogenic temperatures	no permeation

350 to 700 bar	down to -256°C	no leakage, no permeation, no diffusion

Think ahead.

Seals should be capable of safely sealing hydrogen for the lifetime of the vehicle. In most cases it is impractical or impossible to renew hydrogen seals in the field. Although elastomer seals are still widely used (in hydrogen tanks), they are not durable enough to resist hydrogen safely in the long term in such a demanding environment. The need for polymer and metal seals which are specifically suited to use with hydrogen will increasingly be recognized in ISO and other standards. With our deep understanding of material properties and our wide scope of design choices, we at Saint-Gobain are well placed to comply with developing safety and performance standards for hydrogen seals.

Choose the right materials.

We have rigorously tested a broad range of polymers and metals for factors including:

Ageing in high-pressure hydrogen gas
RGD in high-pressure hydrogen gas
Thermal behavior in high-pressure hydrogen gas
Mechanical properties in hydrogen gas and liquid hydrogen
Tribological properties in hydrogen gas and liquid hydrogen
Permeation in high-pressure hydrogen gas

Our material choices can be broadly summarized as follows:

Polymers

For hydrogen seals we focus on fluoropolymers, which offer greater durability and lifespan than elastomers. In addition, we use thermoplastics for components other than seals. Through comparative studies on different fluoropolymer materials, we have established that TFM-based polymers have certain tribological advantages over PTFE-based compounds in hydrogen environments. In hydrogen gas, their coefficients of friction (CoF) and wear rates are especially low. In liquid hydrogen, CoF is similar for PTFE-based and TFM-based materials, but TFM-based polymers show lower wear rates in some cases. Comparing our fluoropolymers with typical elastomers, we find they are much more resistant to hydrogen permeation at high pressure, relatively unaffected by RGD, and capable of withstanding a wide temperature range.

Metals

We have identified and selected steel grades whose tribology results in minimal attraction for hydrogen and avoids embrittlement problems.

Metal with polymer jacket

A further option has been to enclose metal seals in a polymer jacket. This guards against embrittlement and also reduces metal-to-metal wear and noise.

Polymer with metal energizing element

Our spring energized seals are fitted with a metal spring for extra assurance of maintaining a tight seal, even under high pressure.

Meet the needs of key hydrogen mobility applications - and more.

We create dynamic seals, static seals and other components for use with hydrogen in four main automotive application categories:

Hydrogen tanks and regulators	Hydrogen recirculation blower/pump	Hydrogen valves	Hydrogen fuel cell components	Hydrogen engine

*H2 and LH2 tanks*				*Injection / exhaust manifold*
High pressure seals Spring energized seals	Disc cup seals and other low friction seals High Speed Seals	Disc cup seals Low friction seals	Injection molded parts	High Pressure Seals C-Rings Flap Seals for Exhaust System

Explore our product range.

Whatever your needs, we will find – and customize as necessary – the ideal hydrogen sealing solution. Our most relevant product groups are summarized below, along with some of their key advantages. We have dynamic seals for rotational, reciprocating, oscillating, vibrating or other moving assemblies, as well as static seals to use in, for example, face seal applications. With our market-leading products, you can be sure of safe containment, pumping, transport and rapid injection of hydrogen without leakage.


High speed lip seals (stamped / machined)	Low friction seals (polymer, stamped/machined)	Thermoplastic components (injection molded)	Resilient metal seals (stamping/roll-forming)	Spring energised seals (polymer with metal, assembly of polymer seal with spring)
Reliability at high speeds Excellent bi-directional sealing Lifetime durability Creep resistance Low heat genereation Chemical resistance	Optimal control and fast positioning time Efficient system design at lower weight Lower power consumption Dimensional stability Creep resistance Low heat generation Chemical resistance	Excellent tribological performance in hydrogen liquid and gas Low heat generation Resilience to extreme pressure High precision	Resilient to extreme temperature (including cryogenic) Resilience to high pressure, up to 1,000 bar Chemical inertness Lifetime durability Hydrogen compliance Unaffected by RGD Extremely low leakage	Able to handle multiple compression cycles and vibrations Efficiency under high pressures, up to 1,000 bar Efficiency at temperatures from -40 to 120⁰C Unaffected by RGD Controlled friction Low heat generation

Work with our global team.

Saint-Gobain’s world leadership on hydrogen seals owes much to a global technical team, focused on hydrogen issues, which brings together our expert knowledge from automotive and other industries. In local R&D facilities and three international R&D centers, our material science understanding, innovation skills and application engineering capabilities are combined to create new solutions. These activities are supported by our strengths in advanced simulation and data engineering, rapid prototyping, in-house testing, and fast product delivery via a worldwide manufacturing footprint.

Tailored to your needs

Like all our products, our Hydrogen Seals will be custom-designed, configured and manufactured according to the requirements of your individual application and order.
Our engineers will work closely with you at all stages to understand and meet those needs precisely. Discuss your challenges with us, engineer to engineer.

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