The technological upgrade of fluorosilicone rubber as a core sealing material for the hydrogen energy industry safeguards the commercialization process
As the hydrogen energy industry accelerates its progress towards large-scale commercialization, fluorosilicone rubber, as a key basic material for ensuring system safety, has become the preferred choice for sealing solutions throughout the hydrogen energy industry chain due to its excellent hydrogen embrittlement resistance, low permeability and wide temperature range adaptability. Driven by both policy promotion and technological innovation, the application demand for fluorosilicone rubber in core links such as hydrogen energy storage and transportation and fuel cells has continued to explode, and the industry standard system has been gradually improved, building a solid "protective barrier" for the safe development of the hydrogen energy industry.


1.The characteristics of hydrogen energy force the upgrading of materials, making fluorosilicone rubber the preferred choice for sealing
Hydrogen energy molecules have a diameter of only 0.289 nanometers, making them the smallest molecules in nature. They possess extremely strong permeability and diffusion capabilities, and are flammable and explosive. This places extremely high demands on the compactness, resistance to hydrogen embrittlement, and long-term durability of sealing materials. Data shows that approximately 17% of global hydrogen energy system failures are directly related to seal failure, among which sealing issues in high-pressure hydrogen storage containers and hydrogen refueling station pipeline systems account for over 60%. Fluorosilicone rubber, due to its unique molecular structure, has a performance recovery rate of 92% in a high-temperature environment of 150℃. It can withstand a wide temperature range of -40℃ to 250℃. Meanwhile, its hydrogen permeability coefficient is significantly lower than that of ordinary rubber materials. Under a high-pressure hydrogen environment of 35MPa, its hydrogen embrittlement index has approached the international leading level, making it a core compatible material for sealing in hydrogen energy equipment. By 2025, its application proportion in hydrogen energy storage and transportation sealing rings had reached 95%.

2. Technological breakthroughs break through application bottlenecks and continuously optimize performance indicators
Domestic industries have promoted technological breakthroughs of fluorosilicone rubber in the field of hydrogen energy sealing through molecular structure modification and formula optimization. In response to the sealing requirements of bipolar plates in fuel cell stacks, a dedicated fluorosilicone rubber material has been developed with a hydrogen permeability coefficient as low as 130 E-8 cm²/s, which is far superior to the conventional level of 500 to 1000 E-8 cm²/s of ordinary addition-cured silicone. At the same time, it enhances the adhesion on the metal surface and reduces the compression deformation of parts. In the electrolytic cell scenario for green hydrogen production, alkali-resistant fluorosilicone rubber materials have successfully adapted to 30-35% potassium hydroxide aqueous solution electrolytes and high-temperature conditions of 90-95℃, solving the problem that traditional materials are difficult to withstand strong alkaline environments for a long time. From 2023 to 2025, the annual average growth rate of domestic patent applications related to fluorosilicone rubber for hydrogen energy sealing exceeded 30%, and the technological activity level continued to rise.

3. The explosive demand drives market growth, and multi-scenario applications are fully penetrating
With the accelerated layout of the hydrogen energy industry, the application scenarios of fluorosilicone rubber in the entire hydrogen energy industry chain are constantly expanding. In the field of automotive applications, the rapid increase in the production of fuel cell vehicles has directly driven the demand for high-end seals. In 2024, the domestic production of fuel cell vehicles is expected to grow by 112% year-on-year, which in turn has led to a simultaneous surge in the demand for fluorosilicone rubber seals. In the hydrogen storage and transportation sector, the demand for sealing of 70MPa high-pressure hydrogen storage cylinders and liquid hydrogen storage and transportation systems continues to be released. In the field of green hydrogen production, the large-scale stacking and sealing of polymer membrane electrolyzers also cannot do without the support of high-performance fluorosilicone rubber materials. Market data shows that in 2025, the revenue of fluorosilicone rubber sealing rings in the hydrogen energy storage and transportation sector reached 760 million yuan, surging by 138% year-on-year. The growth rate far exceeded the industry average, making it a new growth pole in the fluorosilicone rubber sub-sector. It is predicted that the average annual new installed capacity of electrolytic water hydrogen production equipment will reach 2.5GW from 2026 to 2030, corresponding to a potential market size of approximately 340 million yuan for fluorosilicone seals.

4. The accelerated construction of the standard system safeguards the standardized development of the industry
To address the industry pain points of the complex types of materials and diverse technical indicators in the sealing field of hydrogen energy pressure equipment, the National Energy Administration has initiated the formulation of the energy industry standard "Technical Specification for Sealing of Hydrogen Energy Pressure Equipment", marking a crucial step towards the unified standardization of hydrogen energy sealing materials and technical indicators. At present, China has initially established a technical specification framework for sealing covering material testing, component verification and system integration. Twelve national and group standards have been released, including "Plastic Inner Liner Carbon Fiber Fully Wound Gas Cylinders for Compressed Hydrogen in Vehicles" and "Hydrogen Compatibility Test Methods for Sealing Parts Used in Hydrogen Energy Equipment". The improvement of industry standards will further promote the development of fluorosilicone rubber materials towards standardization and high-end, accelerate the elimination of backward production capacity, and at the same time enhance the compliance and international competitiveness of domestic products, setting a safety bottom line for the high-quality development of the hydrogen energy industry.