The 1.5 million standard cubic meter hydrogen storage facility located in a salt layer 1,418 meters underground in Pingdingshan, Henan, was officially put into operation in H1. This project is Asia’s first large-scale deep-underground salt cavern hydrogen storage initiative and is also referred to as “China’s first salt cavern hydrogen storage facility.”
During project construction and operation, two 22MPa diaphragm hydrogen compressors independently developed by Sinopec Petrochemical Machinery Co., Ltd. performed the core pressurization task and completed gas injection smoothly throughout the entire process. Operational data show that all equipment indicators surpassed design standards, validating the reliability and adaptability of domestically manufactured hydrogen energy equipment in deep-underground salt cavern hydrogen storage scenarios.
Salt cavern hydrogen storage demands high equipment performance. Because hydrogen molecules are extremely small and prone to leakage, the hydrogen storage injection and withdrawal process imposes stringent requirements on compressor sealing performance, medium purity, and long-cycle operational stability. The diaphragm hydrogen compressors deployed this time isolate hydraulic oil from hydrogen via metal diaphragms, preventing medium contamination and reducing leakage risk, making them key equipment for ensuring the safe pressurization and injection of high-purity hydrogen.
To address issues such as low volumetric efficiency, short diaphragm service life, and insufficient operational stability in China’s diaphragm hydrogen compressors, the R&D team at Petrochemical Machinery carried out technical research, focusing on breakthroughs in key technologies including high-efficiency diaphragm cavity profiles, long-life sealing under high-speed conditions, and high-efficiency oil replenishment and overflow systems, thereby forming a high-efficiency, large-displacement diaphragm compressor design.
This type of equipment featureshigh working medium purity, excellent sealing performance, adaptability to high pressure ratio conditions, high single-unit displacement, and stable operation, meeting the demand for high-pressure, high-purity hydrogen pressurization in scenarios such as salt cavern hydrogen storage, hydrogen supply centers, and hydrogen energy storage systems.
Previously, Petrochemical Machinery’s large-displacement diaphragm hydrogen compressor had been deployed in a 50,000 standard cubic meter horizontal tunnel-type rock cavern hydrogen energy storage system and was selected for the fourth batch of major first-of-a-kind technical equipment in the energy sector by the National Energy Administration. Related product series have also achieved large-scale application in multiple 10,000 standard cubic meter-level hydrogen supply centers across China, accumulating long-term operational experience under complex hydrogen supply conditions.
Participation in the commissioning of Asia’s first 1.5 million standard cubic meter salt cavern hydrogen storage facility served as a full-process engineering validation for Petrochemical Machinery—from design and manufacturing to on-site operation and maintenance. Project operation results demonstrate that domestically manufactured diaphragm hydrogen compressors now possess the capability to support large-scale deep-underground hydrogen storage engineering applications.
As the green hydrogen industry and large-scale hydrogen storage demand accelerate, salt cavern hydrogen storage is poised to become a vital pathway for long-cycle, high-capacity hydrogen energy storage. The engineering validation of Petrochemical Machinery’s equipment in this project also provides a reference case for the application of core domestically manufactured hydrogen energy equipment in national-level hydrogen storage projects.
