4 ms·
There is truth in that energy density. but it is still cheaper energetically to chill boil off to liquid back to the tank that to make new hot hydrogen you then
by aurizon 5y ago
There is truth in that energy density. but it is still cheaper energetically to chill boil off to liquid back to the tank that to make new hot hydrogen you then chill to liquid back to the tank. The end game of clathrate storage will solve many of these problems.
- ncmncm 5y agoTrue, keeping the LH2 below its boiling point is, energetically, strictly cheaper than producing as much new hydrogen as would have boiled off, and then chilling that... But, it incurs the added complexity cost of building refrigeration plumbing into the tank, and maintaining that. That could mean the tank has to be above ground, for easy access (which might be needed anyway). My expectation was that native electrical energy will be cheap enough that wasting some is better than complicating your system. Each tradeoff will be an engineering analysis. In this case it will all depend on how good your insulation is, which is of course better in an underground tank. Many old conventions will be overturned as the marginal cost of electrical power at peak times gets cheaper. Both will be tried, so we will see.
- aurizon 5y agoYes, flow batteries, gravity batteries and high water storage will all make their presence felt. Those ~~20-50 tonne bricks they haul and drop would be costly, but I expect them to make them as strong walled brick shapes, with a lower cost fill - be wise to add salt to limit freezing in cold weather.
- ncmncm 5y agoThe bricks, anyway, will not happen. It's the dumbest idea I have run across.