Published
Feb 24, 2025 7:00 AM CET
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The shift to sustainable energy sources such as renewable hydrogen requires new technologies and solutions for hydrogen production, system enablers, and infrastructure.

At Alleima, we recognize and support the key role hydrogen technology will play in the next decade. It’s a sustainable energy carrier and an important contributor to achieving emission targets. However, hydrogen’s journey has just started. Big advances are required for hydrogen to meet its full potential.

One of the biggest challenges is the shortage of hydrogen infrastructure. Investments and subsidies are required to build a robust hydrogen network. Another issue is the price of green Hydrogen. This needs to come down to be competitive to other sources.

Hydrogen can create material challenges. Embrittlement and high-pressure environments are two major issues for materials used in hydrogen applications. At Alleima, our research and development team has extensively tested various materials to ensure their suitability for hydrogen.

Advancing hydrogen infrastructure through materials technology

We’ve developed several solutions across our portfolio to support the advance of hydrogen infrastructure. These include high-pressure pipes for hydrogen refueling stations, round bars for hydrogen containers, and our on-site tubing solution for straightening and cutting coiled tubes. Furthermore, we provide seamless stainless tubes in fixed lengths and coils for low/mid/high-pressure hydrogen applications. We also provide tubing for heat exchangers and technical support as well as customised solutions from Alleima Engineering.

As an affirmation of the qualities of our industry-leading materials, our pipes are used used in several hydrogen refuelling station projects across Europe e.g. in France, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Sweden.

One of our leading grades for hydrogen is Alleima® 3R60. It’s an austenitic chromium-nickel steel with 13% nickel, a minimum 2.5% molybdenum, and low carbon content. The high nickel content gives Alleima® 3R60 a high resistance to hydrogen embrittlement while lowering the impact on mechanical values. Alleima® 3R60 has been used successfully in many hydrogen applications and is widely accepted in the industry.

Another important grade for use in hydrogen applications is Sanicro® 35, a recently introduced super-austenitic stainless steel alloy that’s easy to work with and bridges many material property gaps between stainless steel and costly nickel alloys.

Alleima at Hyvolution 2025

We recently attended the Hyvolution hydrogen exhibition in Paris. It was a well-attended event, attracting many of the industry’s prominent companies, representing some of the key segments in the hydrogen market – from electrolyzers to refueling stations, the car industry, and storage.

There was good energy at Hyvolution. It was a great opportunity to meet customers and partners and discuss new trends. Among the key discussion points was the importance of new technology in reducing hydrogen costs, particularly for green hydrogen made with electricity from renewable sources. There was also lots of interest in developments like next-generation electrolyzers and their potential to increase hydrogen capacity.

Pushing the possibilities for hydrogen

Investment will be the key driver in the acceleration of the hydrogen economy. At Alleima, our commitment to hydrogen is well-established and getting even stronger. Working alongside Alleima Engineering, we are continuously developing solutions to support the expansion of the hydrogen network.

Supporting sustainability

Hydrogen has an important part to play in meeting global climate targets. Our strong focus on hydrogen reflects our commitment to sustainability. We include over 80% recycled material and more than 96% fossil-free electricity in our sites. We also provide life cycle assessments (LCA) for our products to support the increasing focus on sustainability.

We look forward to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with your green hydrogen projects.