Hydrogen tube trailers are semi-trailers that consist of 4 to 36 cluster high-pressure hydrogen tanks varying in length from 20 ft for small tubes to 53 ft on jumbo tube trailers. They are part of the hydrogen highway and usually precede a local hydrogen station.

Types

Modular tube trailer

Older tube trailers made of steel (Type I) usually carry about 100 kg per load, while new and more efficient composite trailers (Type IV) made of carbon fiber make it possible to carry up to 1 t per load. Modular tube trailers range from 8 to 54 tubes.

Intermediate trailer

Intermediate tubes are assembled in banks of 5 tubes in lengths of 19 and 38 ft and provide mobile or stationary storage.

Jumbo tube trailer

A trailer with 10 tubes and a 44 ft chassis, operating with pressures in excess of 3200 psi.

Composite tube trailers

As of 2012, the US Department of Transportation (DOT) started to award Special Permits (SP) to different manufactures to produce Type IV Hydrogen trailers in the US. The US is the current leader in Composite tank manufacturing. As in July 2016, Nishal Group has multiple cascade configurations in the form of cascade banks operating at 200 bar. In February 2018, CATEC Gases was awarded DOT certification to produce a 1,000 kg, 53 ft hydrogen tube trailer operating at 275 bar.