Hi, we are COMFHY.

The main goal of the COMFHY project is to develop advanced simulation methods, testing procedures and inspection tools for filament wound composite tanks for compressed hydrogen storage. Based on these developments, the consortium will also propose new tank designs that are lighter, more easily recyclable, have a smaller carbon footprint and are optimized for productivity.

Project Budget: €4.2M of which €3.0M funded by VLAIO
10 FTE per year
Timeline: July 2024 - June 2027.

What will we do?

The COMFHY research project focuses on the development of advanced simulation, testing and instrumentation capabilities to design future composite tanks for hydrogen storage. The main targeted sector is this of transport applications, where hydrogen has to be stored in a lightweight composite tank under very high pressure (typically 700 bar).

Tests to pass...

The certification requirements are very strict and require passing of:

Static burst pressure tests
Fatigue tests
Drop impact tests

Nowadays, a lot of trial-and-error is used in design of new tanks and many full-scale tank tests are needed to meet the certification requirements.

Project Aim

This project aims at...

Developing predictive simulations for fatigue and impact of full-scale tanks.
Partially replacing full-scale tank tests by representative subcomponent tests.
Validating new Structural Health Monitoring systems for full-scale tanks.
Proposing new composite tank designs with smaller carbon footprint for compressed hydrogen storage.