3 ms·

Yes, I'm curious to know how much of a weight penalty H2 incurs in required heavy pressure vessels, compared to typical liquids?

• wcoenen 6y ago
  Only gaseous hydrogen is stored in heavy tanks under high pressure. As explained in the article, gaseous hydrogen has been deemed infeasible for aviation and the idea is to use liquid hydrogen. No high pressure involved.
  • supernova87a 6y ago
    Well, liquid hydrogen requires some pretty heavy insulating/cooling equipment, doesn't it?
    • wcoenen 6y ago
      The insulation would likely be some type of spray-on foam over aluminum tanks, so not a lot of weight penalty there. Cooling likely wouldn't be done, I assume any excess hydrogen boil-off that couldn't be burned immediately would be allowed to escape through an overpressure vent. (So ideally top it up right before taking off. There could still be a problem if the plane needs to queue a very long time for a congested runway.)