Hydrogen fuel cell components boom

The hydrogen fuel cell market has a 34.3% compound annual growth rate, according to Market Insights Reports, reaching $5.925 billion by 2025, up from $1.82 billion in 2019. Hydrogen fuel cell components are the future, with more vehicles – from garbage trucks to yachts – powered by the technology.

The demand for hydrogen fuel cells grows

An expanding market for Axenics is high-purity welding and weld testing on hydrogen fuel cell components. We hear the demand for cleaner energy and we’re ready to assist all tiers of manufacturers fulfill their need for hydrogen fuel cell components. 

The use of hydrogen fuel cells doesn’t release harmful chemicals into the air. They use hydrogen and oxygen for fuel. The only by-product is water, making hydrogen fuel cells an environmentally friendly option, compared to internal combustion engines, for example.

This technology requires extreme cleanliness

For four decades, we’ve provided ultra-clean, high-purity weldments and bent tubing and pipes that fit into semiconductor manufacturing production systems. Over the years, we expanded into other industries that require that same degree of ultra-clean results, such as medical device manufacturing, life sciences, chemical manufacturing and, of course, alternative energy (producers of hydrogen fuel cells).

Exposing hydrogen fuel cell components to impurities in the air or to miniscule amounts of oil on surfaces can negatively impact their performance.  That’s why we weld hydrogen fuel cell components in a cleanroom setting, which is maintained daily. Potential contaminants such as dirt and dust particles don’t have an opportunity to enter the environment, tooling gets regularly cleaned, and technicians wear protective gear to maintain the purity of end products.

Tungsten inert gas welding or TIG welding (a.k.a. gas tungsten arc welding) is often used for hydrogen fuel cell components because it is an ultra-precise and ultra-clean process. Axenics has three-plus decades of mastery in TIG welding. 

Cross-training our team on both the thermoplastics and metals side of welding ensures there are many hands available for the increasing demand for high-purity components. Staying on top of new techniques keeps our technicians sharp as they tackle increasingly intricate welds.

Testing on hydrogen fuel cell components 

To further ensure our clients receive pristine, high-performance components, we perform non-destructive testing (NDT) on components as part of every job. NDT locates any potential defects and discontinuities while maintaining the component’s functionality.

When requested by a client, we also provide ultrasonic NDT on component weldments for three-pass heat exchanger hydrogen fuel cells that are used in alternative energy machinery and vehicles. Ultrasonic testing on components is highly reliable. The depth of penetration for detecting flaws or measuring surface scratches in stainless steel or other metals surpasses other NDT processes.

Quality control is a top priority for every component delivered, proven by our 99.7% quality rating.

We’re ready for the boom in hydrogen fuel cell component production. Providing longer lifetimes of products for our customers – and promoting a cleaner environment for everyone – is a point of pride at Axenics.

Related Posts