Globe valves to underpin safe and scalable liquid hydrogen production, says OPW white paper

Globe valves are expected to remain a core enabling technology for the liquid hydrogen (LH2) market as it scales up to meet demand for clean fuels, according to a new white paper from OPW Clean Energy Solutions.

As LH2 facilities increase in size and output, the paper outlines how advances in valve technology will be crucial to ensuring the safe, efficient, and reliable handling of cryogenic hydrogen, especially at higher pressures and flow rates.

Liquid hydrogen, long used as rocket fuel in the aerospace sector, is being considered as a clean energy vector for heavy transport and industrial decarbonisation. But keeping it in liquid form requires extreme conditions – temperatures of –254°C and pressures of up to 13 bar – which poses engineering and materials challenges.