Hanwha Solutions developing Type 5 hydrogen tank

Hanwha Solutions was currently developing a Type 5 hydrogen tank for use in urban air mobility (UAM) vehicles, TheElec has learned.

The company had secured the technology through US tank firm Cimarron, which it acquired late last year.

Hanwha acquired the necessary technology to develop a Type 5 hydrogen tank that is over 10% lighter than a Type 4 tank.

Type 5 doesn’t have a liner inside the tank as it does for plastic tanks, a company spokesperson said.

It is made with carbon fiber composite material so it will be much lighter than Type 4 tanks, they said.

The company has been preparing to apply Cimarron’s Type 5 thank technology to aerospace industries, they added.

Cimarron started as an in-house venture of NASA in 2008, and had supplied its tanks to SpaceX run by Elon Musk.

It split off from NASA in 2015 and has been based in Alabama, manufacturing tanks for use in aerospace fields.

Hanwha is aiming to expand into UAM, aerospace and shipping industries through Cimarron.

It plans to spend US$100 million in the US company up to 2025.

Affiliate Hanwha Systems is currently developing UAM vehicles with the aim of commercially manufacturing them by 2025.