Innovations
HYCODUQ — compressing hydrogen near the physical limit
Compressing 1 kg of hydrogen to 700 bar takes roughly 5 kWh with today's diaphragm and piston compressors — physics says about 1 kWh should be enough. The rest is lost as heat. HydroQell™ in development at Ventspils University of Applied Sciences in HYCODUQ project, removes the heat during the stroke: a dual-chamber design where tangentially injected working fluid acts as the piston, with no moving mechanical parts in the hydrogen path. The CFD-modelled target is ~1.36 kWh/kg at 70 MPa — near the isothermal limit. The EU patent is granted, two prior-generation patents were acquired by French HRS manufacturer Atawey, and EU-funded laboratory validation (TRL 2→3) runs through late 2026.
