Hanwha Solutions announced that its newly acquired tank manufacturer Hanwha Cimarron signed a deal with Texas-based energy company Sunbridge Energy Services to provide storage tanks for compressed natural gas (CNG).
The 10-year, $260-million deal aims to deliver tube trailers containing dozens of vessels that can store CNG and other pressurized gases such as hydrogen. Each trailer is 42 to 45 feet long and able to carry 18 Jupiter Tanks developed by Hanwha Cimarron.
Given each Jupiter Tank boasts a maximum storage capacity of 485 kilograms, one tube trailer can deliver up to 9 tons of CNG at a time. Jupiter Tank is a Type IV composite tank made of full carbon fiber, which can withstand a 300-bar pressure level.
“We will take the supply of CNG tanks in the United States as an opportunity to expand into the fast-growing hydrogen storage and transport business,” said Ryoo Du-hyoung, who heads Hanwha Solutions’ Advanced Materials Division.
It is the first time that Hanwha Cimarron has won a contract for providing carbon fiber-wrapped, high-pressure tanks since its establishment last year. Formerly known as Cimarron Composite, the company was acquired by Hanwha Solutions in December 2020.
The company has decided to spend $51 million building a production facility in Opelika. When the construction is complete next year, the factory will churn out 4,000 high-pressure tanks every year. Further investments will be made by 2025 to develop storage tanks for hydrogen-powered vehicles, drones and rockets.