3 ms·

Why not just combust hydrogen to power an ICE? The Soviet Union had an experimental airliner that did this so it is definitely feasible technologically. Seems m

Why not just combust hydrogen to power an ICE? The Soviet Union had an experimental airliner that did this so it is definitely feasible technologically. Seems much simpler than using fuel cells, which will get expensive if they need to be mass produced because they require expensive catalysts.

AlotOfReading 5y ago
The first issue is that you have to make a trade-off between power and producing nitrogen oxides if you're using air. You can get around that with a cat, but then you're back to using expensive catalysts. The engines also can't be as reliable long term as conventional ICEs because hydrogen embrittles and corrodes all metals given enough time. The best you can do is delay things a bit with good alloys and engine design. Knocking/predetonation is also a much difficult problem to solve.
- specialist 5y ago
  Decades ago, there was some effort to use ceramics for ICE. Fill the forms, sinter it, machine finish the details. It'd be neat to revisit some of those ideas.
- jeffreyrogers 5y ago
  Catalytic converters last longer than the catalysts used in fuel cells (fuel cell catalyst is a powder so it is harder to contain). Hydrogen does embrittle most metals, but it does not affect aluminum at moderate temperatures and pressures. Obviously a piston and cylinder head experience high temperatures and pressures but it would in theory be possible to develop ceramic pistons and heads that can mitigate the embrittlement problem, as a sibling comment mentioned.
specialist 5y ago
Ya. Two more possible "hydrogen" paths are ammonia and methane. One future perfect scenario, say year 2040, is to generate fuels with the anticipated excess electricity. Colocate some kind of carbon capture next to every wind and solar farm. Use some for fuel. Pump the rest back into the ground.
adrianN 5y ago
ICEs have abysmal efficiency and the hydrogen supply chain already suffers from high losses.
- jeffreyrogers 5y ago
  It just has to be better than fuel cells to take over from them, and that doesn't seem that hard to do.

AlotOfReading 5y ago

The first issue is that you have to make a trade-off between power and producing nitrogen oxides if you're using air. You can get around that with a cat, but then you're back to using expensive catalysts. The engines also can't be as reliable long term as conventional ICEs because hydrogen embrittles and corrodes all metals given enough time. The best you can do is delay things a bit with good alloys and engine design. Knocking/predetonation is also a much difficult problem to solve.

specialist 5y ago
Decades ago, there was some effort to use ceramics for ICE. Fill the forms, sinter it, machine finish the details. It'd be neat to revisit some of those ideas.
jeffreyrogers 5y ago
Catalytic converters last longer than the catalysts used in fuel cells (fuel cell catalyst is a powder so it is harder to contain). Hydrogen does embrittle most metals, but it does not affect aluminum at moderate temperatures and pressures. Obviously a piston and cylinder head experience high temperatures and pressures but it would in theory be possible to develop ceramic pistons and heads that can mitigate the embrittlement problem, as a sibling comment mentioned.

specialist 5y ago

Ya. Two more possible "hydrogen" paths are ammonia and methane. One future perfect scenario, say year 2040, is to generate fuels with the anticipated excess electricity. Colocate some kind of carbon capture next to every wind and solar farm. Use some for fuel. Pump the rest back into the ground.

adrianN 5y ago

ICEs have abysmal efficiency and the hydrogen supply chain already suffers from high losses.

jeffreyrogers 5y ago
It just has to be better than fuel cells to take over from them, and that doesn't seem that hard to do.