Air Liquide Hydrogen Refuelling Project

Introduction
Air Liquide, a leading multinational specialising in gases, technologies, and services for industry and healthcare, has plants in Spain and Portugal. These facilities provide significant production capacity, including hydrogen.

One of the projects Montrel is developing involves the identification of hydrogen tanks using RFID. Air Liquide has extensive experience across the hydrogen value chain: production, storage, and distribution.

Project Phases

Phase 1: Initial Refuelling Management
The project begins at the Puertollano plant and continues at Estarreja (Portugal) and Coruña plants. Initially, once the refuelling is completed by the DCS (Distributed Control System), the driver retrieves the results through our touch terminal. This terminal communicates directly with the DCS. Moreover, the system can generate all circulation documentation automatically.

Phase 2: Automated Vehicle Identification
Next, the following operations are added across the same three plants:

• Automatic vehicle identification using microwave tags suitable for classified areas before physical loading.

• Cargo launch via an order sent to the DCS.

• Retrieval of results through the touch system, as in the initial phase.

Phase 3: Integrated Loading Management
In the third phase, the entire loading process is managed via Montrel’s touch-screen system. This allows upstream and downstream operations to be handled like other gases (N₂, O₂, CO₂) that Montrel has managed for years. Implementation for this phase was planned for 2022.

Impact and Optimisation
At each stage, the level of load management increases, providing detailed information. The physical hydrogen load is executed by the DCS. These three phases significantly optimise resources compared to previous management methods at Air Liquide plants.