Development of Advanced Hydrogen Liquefaction System by using Magnetic Refrigeration Technology for JST-MIRAI Large-scale Project

Abstract

For the supply chain of hydrogen, as the liquefaction cost may occupy 1/3 of the total supply price, developing a highly efficient hydrogen liquefier is one of the most important technology issues for hydrogen society. Magnetic refrigeration using the magnetocaloric effect has the potential to realize liquefaction efficiency higher than 50 %, and also to be environmentally friendly and cost effective. A hybrid refrigeration cycle consisting of the precooling cycle and magnetic active regenerator cycle has been proposed and is estimated to achieve a liquefaction capacity of >100 kg/day with liquefaction efficiency of >50 %.

Our new project is committed to developing 1）such a highly efficient hydrogen liquefier and also, 2）a compact and energy saving re-condensation refrigerator to realize zero boil-off in the liquid hydrogen storage.