LeiWaCo project: Argo-Anleg meets with project partners at JEC World 2023 in Paris. The goal is the series production of lightweight hydrogen containers.
Since November 2022, Argo-Anleg GmbH has been one of the project partners of the LeiWaCo project. The innovative project focuses on the development of lightweight tanks for cryogenic hydrogen. At the end of April, the project partners met at the renowned JEC World 2023 in Paris for an intensive exchange.
Led by the Composite Technology Center (CTC), a subsidiary of Airbus, the LeiWaCo project aims to economically mass-produce thermoplastic composite pressure tanks for liquid hydrogen (LH2) in aviation and other transport applications. Argo-Anleg GmbH is contributing its know-how and expertise in hydrogen technology to this pioneering project.
Dr. Pavel Novak, Managing Director of Argo-Anleg Tank Systems GmbH, describes the company’s goals and project contributions: “We are pursuing three ambitious scientific and technical goals: We want to optimise the numerical methods for cryogenic hydrogen tanks in order to minimise evaporation losses and improve the pressure dynamics. In this context, we are researching the development of an injector that produces an optimal flow and turbulence effect. Furthermore, we are focusing on improving numerical methods to analyse the extraction of LH2 from the tank. Last but not least, as part of the project, we will hydraulically pressurise our developed tanks and test their H2 permeability using gas tests. At Argo-Anleg, we are determined to push the boundaries of what is possible and create a sustainable future for the hydrogen industry.”
One of the biggest challenges in developing cryogenic fibre composite tanks is leak tightness, which is compromised by thermally induced micro-cracks in the fibre composite. The LeiWaCo project is taking an innovative approach: using thermoplastic materials in combination with thin-ply technology.
At JEC World 2023 in Paris, representatives of the consortium intensively discussed the future development of lightweight tanks with fibre composites and the avoidance of temperature-related micro-cracks. As a partner company in the project, Argo-Anleg GmbH is working together with numerous renowned companies to develop pioneering solutions for the storage of cryogenic hydrogen. The partners of the German-based consortium include:
- AFPT (Dörth)
- ARGO-ANLEG (Wesel)
- CompriseTec (Hamburg)
- CTC Verbundwerkstoff-Technologiezentrum (Stade)
- DLR – Insitut SY (Stade)
- DLR – Institut RY (Bremen)
- eCap Marine (Hamburg)
- Faserinstitut Bremen e.V. (FIBRE, Bremen)
- Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz (FHNW, Münchenstein, Schweiz)
- IDVA (Freiburg im Breisgau)
- Schunk (Lauffen am Neckar)
- Suprem (Yverdon-les-Bains, Schweiz)
- Teijin Carbon Europe (Wuppertal).
With its involvement in the LeiWaCo project, Argo Anleg GmbH is once again demonstrating its innovative strength and commitment to a sustainable future. By developing high-strength and cost-effective lightweight tanks for cryogenic hydrogen, Argo Anleg GmbH will help drive the energy transition and make the transport industry more sustainable.
The LeiWaCo project runs until October 2025 and is financially supported by the BMWi (Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection).
BMWi funding code: 03EI3071I
