CB&I completes first fill of liquid hydrogen test tank at NASA

CB&I has successfully completed the first fill of a 20-cubic-meter liquid hydrogen (LH2) demonstration tank at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center Hydrogen Test Facility in Alabama. The project aims to test non-vacuum insulation technology, which is being developed as a lower-cost alternative to traditional vacuum-based insulation systems for large-scale hydrogen storage.

The demonstration is part of a collaborative program involving CB&I, Shell, NASA, GenH2, and the University of Houston. By utilizing non-vacuum insulation, the partners hope to reduce capital costs for high-throughput hydrogen storage applications, potentially accelerating the development of a scalable hydrogen economy.

The new tank triples the total LH2 storage capacity of the facility and is designed to be refilled as frequently as once per day. This allows researchers to collect data on how the insulation performs under repeated thermal cycles and real-world operating conditions. Over the coming months, the partners will evaluate the system's performance to determine its viability for commercial deployment.