ROSEN Group: Testing in Hydrogen with ZwickRoell Expertise
Case Study
- Customer: ROSEN Group
- Location: Lingen (Ems), Germany
- Industry: Energy
- Topic: Materials testing in a hydrogen environment and under methane or a gas mixture of both
ROSEN Group
The Rosen Group – global leader for innovative solutions
The ROSEN Group in Lingen (Ems), Germany is a leading global provider of innovative solutions in all areas of the integrity process chain. Since its beginnings as a one-man operation in 1981, ROSEN has grown rapidly and continues to do so. The international technology group consists of a team of more than 4,000 employees in over 120 countries worldwide.
The ROSEN Group's scope of services:
- Inspection of critical industrial assets to ensure reliable operation at the highest level and with maximum efficiency
- Individualized technical advice for efficient plant integrity management
- Manufacture and supply of customized new products and systems
- Market-oriented, state-of-the-art research and development for products and services with added value
In addition, ROSEN carries out diagnostics of industrial plants with equipment developed and manufactured in-house and offers customized engineering and consulting services.
The task
Challenges for the hydrogen economy
Renewable energy is of great importance for the future: the hydrogen economy will not be successful without a safe and efficient transportation infrastructure. The introduction of hydrogen into an existing natural gas network is associated with a number of challenges.
There are currently more than 4,500 kilometers of pipelines transporting hydrogen worldwide—around 1,600 kilometers in Europe alone. Most of these are dedicated hydrogen pipelines designed and built for the transportation of process gas hydrogen, or industrial hydrogen, from gas producers to industrial users such as chemical plants and refineries.
Plans for the European hydrogen backbone, on the other hand, are more focused on the vision of hydrogen as an energy source. In the future, much larger quantities of hydrogen will be needed for this. The aim is to expand the network so that gas can be supplied across the entire continent. This goal could be achieved by using the existing natural gas network.
New pipelines would then be added if necessary. As hydrogen and natural gas pipelines are different, these future plans pose particular challenges for the pipeline system, especially in terms of volume, pressure and thus maintaining the integrity and safety of the pipelines. “As the need for a comprehensive understanding of the suitability of line pipe steel for hydrogen transportation grows, it will become increasingly important to understand the impact of hydrogen on the integrity of new and existing pipelines in the context of mechanical properties, chemical composition and microstructure,” explains Tanja Schmidt, Head of Hydrogen Laboratory at the ROSEN Group.
The ZwickRoell solution
Innovative materials testing in a hydrogen lab
The ROSEN Group has built a new laboratory at their location in Lingen (Ems) to test material properties in a hydrogen and/or methane environment. “To do this, we set up an autoclave system for K1H specimens from another manufacturer, which tests the material suitability in hydrogen,” explains Schmidt. In addition, ZwickRoell's dynamic materials testing machine with pressure vessel was installed, on which tensile and fracture mechanics tests are performed on both new and used pipe material.
In contrast to static testing machines, the dynamic testing machines test different materials under realistic loading conditions in order to evaluate their fatigue strength, fracture toughness and other mechanical properties.
Among other things, the ROSEN laboratory tests pipe material from gas network operators who want to upgrade their existing network for the transportation of hydrogen. Products for hydrogen transportation are also qualified by pipe manufacturers and the ZwickRoell testing machine is used for traditional basic research and development work.
In addition to the dynamic materials testing machine, the ROSEN laboratory also has a vibrophore from the Ulm-based testing machine manufacturer. This instrument generates the dynamic loads with the aid of an electromagnetic resonance drive and enables very high test frequencies and short test times with minimal energy input.
“For these types of innovation projects, it is extremely important to have a direct line of communication. The collaboration with ZwickRoell was outstanding, as both partners were keen to find solutions together. We established effective lines of communication, which benefited us all.”
Tanja Schmidt, Head of Hydrogen Laboratory, ROSEN Group
The result
Hydrogen project in collaboration with ZwickRoell
Through pipe inspection, data evaluation, integrity management—which is now also supplemented with data on material properties from the tests—the ROSEN Group has a holistic view when it comes to the use of hydrogen, which characterizes the company with a unique selling point. “In ZwickRoell, we have found an established testing machine manufacturer for this important topic, with whom we were able to implement our innovation project well,” says Schmidt.
This was also a first for the Ulm-based testing machine manufacturer: ZwickRoell produced the first dynamic materials testing machine with a pressure vessel designed in-house for hydrogen. Schmidt: “In addition, ZwickRoell's excellent customer service was a decisive factor for us in awarding the contract, as was the Made in Germany aspect.”
