随着氢能产业的快速发展,液氢作为高密度储运形式,在大规模氢能应用中具有显著优势;然而,氢液化过程中能耗及成本高,已成为制约其商业化推广的关键瓶颈。系统综述了氢液化技术的基本工艺原理,包括正—仲氢催化转化机制及带液冷的节流液化循环(林德—汉普逊循环)、带膨胀机液化循环(克劳德循环)和氦膨胀制冷氢液化循环(逆布雷顿循环)三大基础流程。梳理了全球大型氢液化装置的投产现状,指出当前氢液化核心技术由少数国际气体公司掌握。重点分析了面向未来发展的先进大型氢液化工艺,如液氮/氦预冷循环、混合冷剂制冷及欧洲IDEALHY项目中的高效集成方案,其中概念性装置最低能耗已达4.41 kW·h/kg,理论效率可达25%～50%。研究表明,混合冷剂耦合多级制冷工艺在能效、紧凑性和可扩展性方面更具发展潜力,是实现百吨级液氢工厂的技术方向。

With the rapid development of the hydrogen energy industry, liquid hydrogen, as a high-density storage and transportation form, offers significant advantages for large-scale hydrogen applications. However, the high energy consumption and cost associated with hydrogen liquefaction have become key bottlenecks restricting its commercialization. This paper presents a systematic review of the fundamental principles of hydrogen liquefaction technology, including the ortho-to-para hydrogen catalytic conversion mechanism and three basic processes: throttling liquefaction with liquid cooling(Linde-Hampson Cycle), expansion engine-based liquefaction (Claude Cycle), and helium-refrigerated liquefaction (Reverse Brayton Cycle). Based on this, the current status of global large-scale hydrogen liquefaction plants is summarized, highlighting that core liquefaction technologies are currently dominated by a few international industrial gas companies. Furthermore, the paper focuses on advanced large-scale hydrogen liquefaction processes under development for future applications, such as liquid nitrogen/helium pre-cooling cycles, mixed-refrigerant refrigeration, and the highly integrated schemes from the European IDEALHY project. Conceptual designs have achieved a minimum specific energy consumption as low as 4.41 kW·h/kg, with theoretical exergy efficiency reaching 25%~50%. The study indicates that multi-stage refrigeration processes coupled with mixed refrigerants exhibit greater potential in terms of energy efficiency, compactness, and scalability, representing a promising technical pathway toward hundred-ton-per-day liquefaction plants.