MannTek has introduced LH2 (liquid hydrogen) solutions available for trucks, ships and aviation, addressing a key gap in the distribution chain. The success lies in combining traditional liquid hydrogen handling with modern chemical couplings.
Hydrogen offers several advantages: it’s highly efficient and produces zero emissions, with water as the only byproduct. Hydrogen is abundant and can be produced from various renewable sources. It has a high energy density, making it suitable for applications like fuel cells in transportation and energy storage.
While many experts are still busy talking about hydrogen as the fuel of the future, and big companies keep waiting for the politicians to create a legal framework for their investments, MannTek is already closing an important gap in the distribution chain of liquid hydrogen.
Physical properties a real challenge
The high demand on the thermal isolation on with heat intakes between 5 and 20 Watt is not only to protect the environment from the cold liquid. It is also to keep the heat outside to avoid boiling of the liquid inside, which may lead to rapid increase of the pressure. The extreme physical properties of hydrogen has been a real challenge, to meet the high demand on leakage rates from the rules and standards.

The idea behind the MannTek products is quite simple. The combination of approved solutions from traditional liquid hydrogen handling and the connecting principle of modern chemical couplings made this concept successful. Even if the temperature inside the coupling is reaching down to -253°C, the outer connecting mechanism is only exposed to ambient conditions.
As a joint development partner of well-known international operating gas companies, MannTek in Sweden has already solutions available for truck fuelling and ship bunkering. These are successfully verified with Liquid Hydrogen at independent laboratories, witnessed by third party inspections.
The first approved LH2 coupling for truck fuelling
The verifications led to the probably first approved LH2 coupling for truck fuelling based on the EC regulations 79/2009 and 406/201 for hydrogen powered motor vehicles. And by the end of 2021, the Clean Energy Partnership in Germany published a white paper for Liquid Hydrogen Connectors based on the experience from the evaluation process of this solution. Target is the standardization of the interface on ISO level. Also, the Plan Approval process by DNV for ship bunkering is finalized.
The first prototype for rocket re-fuelling
Both projects went into operation already in 2022.
Customers from all over the world are interested in testing the couplings for several different applications. Already in 2019, the first prototype for rocket re-fuelling has been successfully tested with liquid hydrogen. While other companies were showing nice 3D-models and interesting concept studies, MannTek were producing hardware and testing. The facilities in Mariestad with a big cryogenic testing area gave the right conditions to take this opportunity.
“We believe that liquid hydrogen applications will have an important place in the future energy infrastructure, and we are well prepared for it.”
Gerhard Kopplin, Technical Director at MannTek
Right conditions and right partners
Creating the right conditions and finding the right partners to realize the complete hose package – including a proper vacuum insulation guaranteed down to 10-4 mbar over several years in operation – has been a key factor to come to the point where we are today. We believe that liquid hydrogen applications will have an important place in the future energy infrastructure. And we at MannTek are well prepared.
If you want to learn more about our hydrogen solution, contact our sales director Lars-Ove Gustavsson and key account manager Rickard Axelsson.

Lars-Ove Gustavsson
Sales Director +46 501 393 210
lars-ove.gustavsson@manntek.se

Rickard Axelsson
Key Account Manager +46 501 39 32 12
rickard.axelsson@manntek.se
Questions and answers
How do we solve the challenges of extremely low temperatures? Which applications are our hydrogen solution suitable for and how does our coupling work? These and many more question CEO of MannTek Markus Bäckström and our technical director Gerhard Kopplin answer in our Q&A-sessions.
Customer stories
We are proud of the many projects we have together with our customers. Whether the application area is land, sea or air we have the customized solutions. Daimler and Norled are two of our cases we like to share with you.

Manntek plays a significant role in the building of the worlds first sLH2 refueling station.
