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Drivers:

• Increasing oxygen demand globally due to the ongoing geopolitics pandemic.
• Rising demand for cryogenic tanks due to their need in the end-user industries, especially in developing countries. 
• Growing global demand for fuel cell applications has driven the growth of onboard liquid hydrogen (LH2) fuel systems for heavy-duty trucks and their fueling infrastructure. 
• Increasing usage of LNG for transportation and energy source for off-grid power generation and NG peak shaving.
• Adoption of hydrogen as a clean and sustainable energy source for material handling, transportation, robotics, aerospace, and many other dynamic industries - North America, Asia, and Europe.
• The growth in investments for LNG infrastructure and the rise in adoption of International Standards Organization (ISO) tanks by companies specialising in the production and transport of low-carbon alternative fuel LNG. 
• Increasing demand for helium in the electronics and semiconductor industry. 
• Supportive Governments incentives, regulations, mandates towards using low-carbon alternative fuel.

LNG for transportation and its infrastructure:

Road fuel: LNG is the most common type of natural gas used as a transportation fuel for long-distance heavy-duty vehicles. This rapid increase in fuel consumption can be attributed to strong government initiatives in Asia and Europe to shift away from diesel-powered vehicles and toward alternatives to address deteriorating air quality. Since the introduction of LNG as an alternative fuel for heavy-duty vehicles in the early 2010s, China has become the world's largest market for LNG as a road fuel.

Marine Fuel: As stronger environmental laws are implemented at local and international levels to decrease emissions; many marine vessel owners are exploring utilizing cleaner alternative bunker fuels to comply.

Starting from January 2020, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) established a new global sulfur content restriction of 0.50 percent in ship fuel. Implementing a sulfur content cap on marine bunker fuel has accelerated the transition to LNG-fueled ships by requiring the installation of new machinery (or conversion where practicable) and the building of associated infrastructure.

LNG Bunkering:

There are several ways to fuel LNG to ships, with terminal tank-to-ship, truck-to-ship, and ship-to-ship (STS) transfers being the most prevalent. In general, STS transfers from bunkering vessels can refuel gas-powered ships more swiftly and efficiently than side truck-to-ship LNG transfers.

The global operating LNG bunkering vessel fleet has grown to 22 units as of early 2021, of which nearly 70 percent of LNG bunkering vessels are based in Europe.

Most of the operational bunkering vessels were added in the last few years, with nine added between 2017 and 2018 and another seven added between 2019 and 2020. The standard capacity of LNG bunkering vessels has expanded over time, from 1,000 cubic meters to around 20,000 meters in LNG fuel capacity in recent newbuilds.

However, in other world regions, such as Asia and North America, the market is seeing continuous development.

Many markets in the Asia-Pacific, including Singapore, Japan, and South Korea, are planning to build LNG bunkering infrastructure, indicating a rise in LNG demand as a marine fuel in the region. The United States is anticipated to become a major player in the LNG bunkering business.

Cryogenic Tanks:

Cryogenic liquids, which are typically liquefied gases at -150 °C or lower such as -270°C, are stored in cryogenic tanks. Cryogenic tanks are the best option when huge amounts of gas, such as oxygen, nitrogen, argon, helium, and hydrogen, need to be stored in liquid form. 

Cryogenic tanks are also used to store gases at higher temperatures, such as liquefied natural gas (LNG), carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide.  

Design: 

The vacuum-insulated double-wall cryogenic tanks consist of two concentric vessels, an austenitic steel inner tank, an outer carbon steel jacket with an anti-corrosion primer, and a special environmentally friendly topcoat. The space between the inner and outer tank is evacuated and filled with insulating powder (perlite). A molecular sieve adsorbent is also added to maintain the vacuum in the insulation interspace. 

In addition to these two containers separated by insulating material, cryogenic tanks have another vital component: a pressure regulation system. This system is specifically designed to ensure that the cryogenic tank always operates at a constant pressure set with the user’s needs.

The standard tanks range in size from 3,160 litres to 61,620 litres in gross nominal water capacity. For design temperatures ranging from -196°C to 20°C, the maximum permitted working pressure for the inner vessels is 18, 22, or 36 bar gauge.

Types:

Cryogenic tanks are commonly used for storage and transportation purpose. The storage tanks are configured as vertical and horizontal installation while the transportation tanks are mounted to the truck or trailers. 

The transportation tanks are used for short, and medium distances and semi-trailers are used for large volume and long-distance transportation. Portable tanks are used to transport cryogenic bulk liquids worldwide by ship, rail, and road.

Many industrial gases are being delivered to customers in liquid form at cryogenic temperatures, enabling them to be stored on-site for later use. 

Cryogenic tanks have different shape and design characteristics, each perfectly adapted to the cryogenic liquid they hold and where they will be located: size, place, terrain.

Applications: 

Liquefied gases are used in various applications, including metal processing, medical technology, electronics, water treatment, energy generation and the food industry. 

Cryogenic liquids are also used for low-temperature cooling applications, such as engineering shrink fitting, food freezing, and bio-samples storage.

Recent Developments:

• On January 11, 2022, the government of Telangana in India has inaugurated 144 oxygen plants in government hospitals across the state to be prepared for the third wave of geopolitics. The government had also purchased 25 oxygen cryogenic ISO containers and 74 tanks to transport liquid medical oxygen.
• On June 14, 2021, Airbus has decided to work on building liquid hydrogen (LH2) tanks by 2023 by creating Zero-Emission Development Centres (ZEDC) in Europe. The goal of the ZEDC is to achieve cost-competitive cryogenic tank manufacturing to support the successful future market launch of ZEROe and accelerate the development of hydrogen-propulsion technologies.
• On November 3, 2020, Chart Industries Acquired the Micro bulk cryogenic tank intellectual property, equipment, and other assets from IC Biomedical. Chart acquired the business from IC Biomedical upon ICB’s acquisition of these assets and the cryobiological assets of Worthington Industries. 
• On May 12, 2020, Air products responded concisely to support a new 20-ton medical oxygen tank installation at a treatment hospital in KÄ™dzierzyn-Koźle, Poland. 
• On April 3, 2020, Taylor-Wharton announced the expansion of the distribution of its cryogenic bulk tanks and other products in Europe, the Middle East, and Northern Africa. 

Opportunities:

• Growing hydrogen energy demand for mobility sector in North America, Europe, China, and South Korea. 
• There is increasing demand from helium for health care and semiconductor chip production in Asia, followed by North America and Europe. 

End-User Sector:

Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG)

Natural gas is recovered from the seabed and transferred to a local FLNG via flowlines. It is then liquified by cooling the gas at cryogenic temperature (-160°C) to transform it into a liquid by reducing its volume 600 times.

The LNG is then stored in tanks on board the ship until it can be transferred more efficiently and safely to regasification plants worldwide. These plants turn it back into a combustible gas that can be burned to produce heat and electricity.

With the significant increase in LNG demand in recent years, more FLNG projects have been launched, with up to 22 vessels scheduled to be operational by 2022 and more planned in the future.

Global proposed FLNG liquefaction capacity:

Blackridge Research's Global Cryogenic Tanks Market report provides insights into the current global and regional Global market demand scenario and its outlook.

This study offers a detailed analysis of various factors instrumental in affecting the Global Cryogenic Tanks market's growth. The study also comprehensively analyses the market based on the applications (Stationary storage tanks, portable tanks), the cryogens (Liquid Oxygen, Liquid Nitrogen, Liquid Hydrogen, Liquid Helium, Liquified Natural Gas, Liquid Argon, and others) and on geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Rest of the world).

This report also includes the latest market trends, drivers and restraints, present and future opportunities, new projects, the global impact of geopolitics on the Global Cryogenic Tanks market, and significant developments.

Further, the report will also provide Global Cryogenic Tanks market size, demand forecast, and key competitors in the market.