A hydrogen project’s financial case depends on the facility delivering when customers need it, at a cost they can plan for. Reliable operation protects revenue, limits unplanned expenditure and gives investors greater confidence in the assumptions behind a project.
After six years working in the hydrogen industry, I am convinced that proving the technology works is only part of the challenge. We must demonstrate that complete systems can work reliably, day after day, in real operating conditions.
Hydrogen has an important role where direct electrification is impractical, insufficient or delayed by network constraints. But whether the customer runs an industrial process or a vehicle fleet, their experience is straightforward: is the facility available when they need it?
Design reliability into the complete system
A hydrogen facility brings together electrolysers, compressors, dryers, cooling, storage, dispensing, controls and safety equipment. Each package can meet its own specification while the facility still fails to deliver. A cooling fault can stop compression; a controls interface can prevent otherwise healthy equipment from operating.
Reliability therefore starts with understanding how the complete system behaves under realistic demand, temperatures, start–stop cycles and maintenance conditions. Integration testing must cover those interactions, including what happens when equipment becomes unavailable.
At Logan, some of our most valuable lessons have come from components underperforming, supplier support falling short and interfaces creating problems. Those experiences have been difficult and expensive. They are shaping how we design and support the next generation of infrastructure.
A small component can create a large maintenance bill
We have dealt with compressor cylinder seal failures that required repair and retesting. A seal represents only a small part of a facility’s capital cost, yet its failure can make the compressor unavailable and interrupt the wider operation.
The cost can extend well beyond the replacement part. Safe isolation and depressurisation, engineering time, access to the cylinder, reassembly, leak testing and recommissioning all take resources. Travel and waiting for spares can add further cost and delay. The customer may also lose production or need an alternative hydrogen supply.
That is why we need to assess components against their operating conditions, service life and replacement requirements. The relevant comparison is the total cost of keeping the facility available throughout its life.
Put redundancy where it earns its keep
Redundancy should reflect the customer’s required output and tolerance for interruption. Duplicating an entire facility can tie up capital in equipment that is rarely used. Selective redundancy can protect critical capacity more economically.
Consider an illustrative design with three independently isolatable compressor modules, each capable of delivering 50% of the required flow at the specified pressure. Two meet full demand and the third provides standby capacity. If one is unavailable, the other two can still meet demand, subject to successful changeover. This installs 150% of required capacity, compared with 200% for two full-capacity units.
Less installed capacity can reduce capital expenditure (CAPEX), but the saving must be checked against actual equipment and installation costs. Three smaller modules do not automatically cost less than two larger ones. Repairs can be scheduled while the remaining modules operate, reducing the need for emergency intervention. Each additional module also adds routine maintenance. These costs, efficiency and avoided disruption determine whether operating expenditure (OPEX) and total ownership cost improve.
The modules must also be genuinely independent. Shared cooling, power or controls can disable every unit. Stored hydrogen or a backup supply can help bridge an interruption, provided its usable capacity and delivery rate match the customer’s demand.
Make maintenance practical from day one
Safe access, clear documentation, trained operators and available spares all influence how quickly a facility returns to service. If replacing a small component requires dismantling surrounding equipment, the design has created a recurring maintenance burden.
Handover should begin a supported operating life. Preventive maintenance, remote monitoring and technical support help identify developing problems and plan interventions. Operating experience must then feed back into engineering, so the same weaknesses are removed from future installations.
End the chain of blame
When several suppliers are involved, a failure can become an argument about whose equipment caused it. The compressor supplier points to cooling, the cooling supplier points to controls, and the controls supplier points back to operating conditions. Meanwhile, the customer is still waiting for the facility to work.
An integrated approach gives the customer one accountable lead for diagnosing the problem, coordinating suppliers and restoring operation. Clear responsibilities, access to operating data and agreed response arrangements make that ownership practical. Suppliers remain responsible for their equipment, but the customer should not have to manage the dispute before a solution is put in motion.
Turn experience into repeatable performance
At Logan, our move towards greater vertical integration is about taking more responsibility for the complete solution. We do not need to manufacture every nut and bolt. But we do need to own the decisions that determine performance, from system design and technology selection to manufacturing, testing and support.
Logans standardised products help us carry proven designs, common components and repeatable testing into successive installations. They also simplify training, maintenance and spare-parts management. The value grows when lessons from one installation improve every system that follows.
For Logan, this is how our engineering experience becomes a stronger customer proposition: dependable output, more predictable costs and clear responsibility when something goes wrong. Those are foundations on which customers and investors can build confidence in hydrogen infrastructure. And those foundations have been learned by Logan over 25 years.