Our View: Trelleborg taking giant leap on hydrogen

For the second time since the birth of the oil industry in Titusville, Pa., an unassuming Midwestern town has assumed a central role in a coming energy revolution.

Calling hydrogen the "fuel of the future," Trelleborg Sealing Solutions officials cut the ribbon June 14 on a new, $2.5 million hydrogen testing facility in Fort Wayne, Ind., home to TSS' North American headquarters.

Like the petroleum pioneers of the 19th century, Trelleborg is staking its claim to a new, more abundant and still relatively unknown energy source.

The efficiencies, reliability and infrastructure for commercial hydrogen generation, transportation, storage and usage are not yet in place.

But the investments being made by major companies like Trelleborg are evidence of its potential.

If the prognostications from the sealing firm prove correct, the $9 trillion global investment in hydrogen in the coming years will be more than the automotive and oil and gas markets combined.

While the post-oil energy revolution may be a ways out, the new lab represents a keystone in Trelleborg's push to lead the industry in hydrogen sealing and testing across all points on the value chain—from hydrogen generation, to storage, to transportation and end-use application testing.

"This may not be Mr. Armstrong stepping onto the moon ... but for us it is a significant milestone," Konrad Saur, vice president of innovation and technology at Trelleborg Group, told Rubber News. "I am extremely proud of what we are opening up here."

Innovating and changing when there is no protocol, no benchmarks to follow, is both the bane and reward of the pioneer.

And quite literally, Trelleborg Sealing is writing the book on hydrogen testing with its new lab, as there are no ASTM standards or published methodologies referencing hydrogen protocols.

Previously, testing was done on hydrogen sealing systems using oil and gas methods, or other niche market protocols.

Hydrogen's virtues are many, including its ubiquity (it is the most abundant element in the universe) and its variety of uses as both an energy source (fuel) as well as an avenue for renewable energy storage.

No CO2 is produced when using hydrogen, as hydrogen generates only electricity, water and heat when it reacts with oxygen.

As a fuel, hydrogen is likely to power a next generation of vehicles and aircraft, including spacecraft. It also can be used as fuel in steel-making.

The International Energy Agency reports that there are more than 2,000 low-carbon projects involving hydrogen. And the Inflation Reduction Act in the U.S. offers significant subsidies for producing green hydrogen.

While hydrogen has proved its worth in many industries, reaching its full potential as the "fuel of the future" and assuming its rightful role in decarbonization efforts have not been realized.

Such efforts begin with a company like Trelleborg, in a Midwestern town like Fort Wayne, swimming against the stream and attempting to define the undefined for a more sustainable world.