Abstract
Pipes presently used for hydrogen transport in Europe are thick-walled low-strength steel pipes, as hydrogen embrittlement generally tends to increase with increasing material strength. Due to lack of understanding of hydrogen influenced micro mechanisms and comprehensive material test data for carbon steel in a high-pressure hydrogen environment, additional design conservatism is utilized. Not a sustainable nor a cost-efficient solution with respect to the consumption of steel, handling, transport and fabrication costs.Leaner pipes can be applied if we can manage to simultaneously increase the material strength and optimize the microstructure to withstand the influence of hydrogen.
