Kawasaki Starts Construction of a Demonstration Facility for the World's First Centrifugal Hydrogen Compressor for Hydrogen Liquefaction Plants

KM Comp-H₂ centrifugal hydrogen compressor		Demonstration facility (image)

Tokyo, March 26, 2025 — Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. announced today that it has begun construction of a demonstration facility for the KM Comp-H₂, a centrifugal hydrogen compressor for hydrogen liquefaction plants under development, at Harima Works of the company (Harima-cho, Kako-gun, Hyogo Prefecture) on February 10, 2025.

The development and demonstration of this machine are being carried out as part of a Green Innovation Fund project "Development of large-scale high-efficiency machineries for hydrogen liquefiers "*¹ sponsored by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). The manufacturing of the demonstration machine has now been completed, and construction of the demonstration facility has begun. Notably, this is the world's first centrifugal hydrogen compressor for use in hydrogen liquefaction plants*².

Construction of the demonstration facility will continue forward toward completion in November 2025, followed by one year of operational testing.

This machine is responsible for the process of boosting the pressure of refrigerant hydrogen gas, which is used to cool the feed hydrogen gas that serves as the raw material for liquefied hydrogen. Improving the efficiency of the liquefaction process is essential for reducing hydrogen supply costs. Kawasaki, drawing on over half a century of experience and expertise in compressors for the energy and resources sector, is developing a large-scale centrifugal hydrogen compressor designed for 100% pure hydrogen to enhance liquefaction efficiency.

This machine achieves "high efficiency, high pressure boost with a compact footprint" compared to conventional hydrogen compressors by incorporating technological innovations such as the development of new impellers , the machine’s key component, and the adoption of a centrifugal design capable of handling large flow rates.

The knowledge and data gained through the development of this machine will also be applied to the development of centrifugal hydrogen compressors for hydrogen supply pipelines, where are expected to see higher demand in line with the expansion of hydrogen energy.

KM Comp-H₂ centrifugal hydrogen compressor features

-	Achieving a boosting performance that significantly surpasses existing hydrogen compressors：Ultra-high-speed rotating technology using the newly developed impeller makes it possible to efficiently boost hydrogen, a small molecular weight gas.
-	By adopting centrifugal type design that enables handling high flow rates, the required installation area is reduced to one-seventh compared to existing hydrogen compressors.

Kawasaki is promoting the development of the hydrogen supply chain with a focus on the future expansion of hydrogen energy use. In order to achieve global carbon neutrality, the company will continue to actively work on the development of technology related to the production/transportation/storage/utilization of hydrogen.

*1

Implemented under the Green Innovation (GI) Fund project sponsored by the National Research and Development Agency, New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), titled "Large-scale Hydrogen Supply Chain Establishment / Development of innovative liquefaction, hydrogenation, and dehydrogenation technology/Development of large-scale high-efficiency machineries for hydrogen liquefiers."

*2

According to research conducted by Kawasaki (market surveys confirm that it is the world’s first).