The liquefaction technology for hydrogen is not very new, in fact, hydrogen was first liquefied by James Dewar, a British scientist, in 1898. It has been used, in large amounts, in mobility, for instance by NASA and US Army, since the mid-1960s.
Liquid Hydrogen has also been used in the automotive sector, like in the BMW Hydrogen 7, built from 2005-2007 by BMW.
Energy Ratio
1Kg LH2 = 3.1Kg Petrol = 2.9Kg LPG = 2.7Kg LNG (*)
(*) LH2 at 20K and 10 Bara.
The use of Liquid Hydrogen allows us to store a large amount of energy in a relatively small space, with a very low weight. Just to have a reference, we can consider that 1Kg of LH2 contains about 3 times the energy contained in 1Kg of Petrol, LPG or LNG.
So, the use of Liquid Hydrogen allows our equipmen:
- To have a greater travel autonomy
- To be able to develop more power
- To store LH2 in low pressure tanks up to 10 bar (150 psi)
Volume Ratio
1 Liter LH2 = 1.8 Liter H2 at 700 bar = 3.1 Liter H2 at 350 bar (**)
(**) LH2 at 20K and 10 Bara; H2 at 20°C.
Comparing the volume of Liquid Hydrogen, with the volume of Gaseous Hydrogen, at different pressures, we can see that, 1 Liter of LH2 contains about 2 times, of the energy contained in 1 Liter of H2, at 700 bar, and about 3 times, the energy contained in 1 Liter of H2, at 350 bar.
