Hydrogen for mass- or space-constrained mobility (eg bikes, automobile, aircraft) faces all the known problems with storing it inside inconvenient shapes and contending with the losses from liquification. Real Engineering has a video on this aspect (Nebula and YouTube) when compared to simply using battery-electric storage.
However, I think hydrogen could be very useful for train locomotives – which historically had “tenders” that stored the fuel behind the prime mover – since weight is less of a problem on traction railways. As well as any stationary applications, such as utility-scale hydrogen to time-shift electricity supply, where there may be scales-of-efficiencies to realize. Today’s utility-scale battery farms are not exactly gaining any scales-of-efficiency to speak of, because they’re just adding more battery cells to the grid.
A singular, massive hydrogen storage tank would be a sphere, benefitting from a favorable volume to surface area ratio, among other possibilities. And such a sphere would make better use of land by growing in height, whereas multi-storey battery farms would be fire hazards. But these are just cursory conjectures.
Where a battery bank has a hazard of starting a fire as well as being a hazard if there is fire nearby, an enormous hydrogen tank is only a hazard if there is fire nearby, but it’s an explosive hazard.
How would it compare to storing enormous amounts of propane, in terms of safety only? Would the same safeguards work?
Shorter term stationary storage seems like an interesting idea, has anyone studied it out to see how effective, affordable, and efficient it is?
Hydrogen for mass- or space-constrained mobility (eg bikes, automobile, aircraft) faces all the known problems with storing it inside inconvenient shapes and contending with the losses from liquification. Real Engineering has a video on this aspect (Nebula and YouTube) when compared to simply using battery-electric storage.
However, I think hydrogen could be very useful for train locomotives – which historically had “tenders” that stored the fuel behind the prime mover – since weight is less of a problem on traction railways. As well as any stationary applications, such as utility-scale hydrogen to time-shift electricity supply, where there may be scales-of-efficiencies to realize. Today’s utility-scale battery farms are not exactly gaining any scales-of-efficiency to speak of, because they’re just adding more battery cells to the grid.
A singular, massive hydrogen storage tank would be a sphere, benefitting from a favorable volume to surface area ratio, among other possibilities. And such a sphere would make better use of land by growing in height, whereas multi-storey battery farms would be fire hazards. But these are just cursory conjectures.
Where a battery bank has a hazard of starting a fire as well as being a hazard if there is fire nearby, an enormous hydrogen tank is only a hazard if there is fire nearby, but it’s an explosive hazard.
How would it compare to storing enormous amounts of propane, in terms of safety only? Would the same safeguards work?
Shorter term stationary storage seems like an interesting idea, has anyone studied it out to see how effective, affordable, and efficient it is?
Hydrogen leaks ! Dihydrogen is the smallest molecule so it can pass through the smallest smallest gap.
Containing hydrogen is extremely difficult and it is an extremely difficult challenge for rocket manufacturers.