World’s smallest pressure regulator for hydrogen gas
A startup in Munich developing the world’s smallest sensor for hydrogen gas.
The microvalve developed by Water stuff & sun consists of several subcomponents. The pressure regulator is only a few micrometers in size and is the core component of a microvalve system that controls the gas flow inside a silicon chip measuring only 4x4x2 mm.
The startup has tested the first two stages of a five-step pressure regulator that will be able to control the hydrogen release in steps from 1000bars down to a few bars.
The miniature pressure regulator will be integrated into tennis-ball-sized carbon fiber high pressure storage cells called SFEERS. SFEERS store renewable energy in the form of compressed gaseous hydrogen. Many of these cells can safely, easily, and highly efficiently store and transport hydrogen for mobile and stationary consumers in a hydrogen battery.
The light weight and flexibility of the SFEERS allows for a highly modular system, so that the hydrogen battery can be customized to all kinds of energy consuming applications powering hydrogen fuel cells or hydrogen combustion engines of all sizes.
“A successful energy transition requires a shift from fossil fuels to renewable energies, and hydrogen as an energy carrier will be able to make a decisive contribution to this. With our technology, we are making green hydrogen safe, cost efficient and easily available and thus competitive with fossil fuels. With the successful development of the pressure regulator prototype, we have achieved a decisive technical breakthrough that represents an important milestone in the overall development of the hydrogen battery,” said Thomas Korn, CEO and co-founder of water stuff & sun GmbH.
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