“Joby took a pre-production prototype of one of its battery-electric aircraft and outfitted it with a liquid hydrogen fuel tank and fuel system. The modified, hydrogen-powered VTOL was able to complete a 523 mile flight above Marina, California…”

  • Allero@lemmy.today
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    4 months ago

    Will check out, thanks!

    What are the advantages over compressed hydro on one side and metal hydride storage on the other?

    Also, if I understand right, that does not address the issues of conversion efficiency.

    • Kacarott@feddit.de
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      4 months ago

      So as far as I know, the benefit of LOHC is that compression/cooling is no longer required. Transporting/storing hydrogen becomes as easy as transporting any oil. There is an energy cost in the binding reaction, which is endothermic, but the unbinding reaction is exothermic so you get some of that energy back.

      Unless you mean some other conversion?

      • Allero@lemmy.today
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        4 months ago

        I mean obtaining and using. You have energy losses converting water to hydrogen and hydrogen to energy, and those two compound nastily, even while using the most efficient tech.

        Also, safety is a concern that can be addressed, but that was beyond my point. You still need to transfer hydrogen from point A to point B, and it is way more expensive and eco-unfriendly than moving electricity around. Or, if you want to put electrolyzers on each petrol station, you need to make sure the water supply is adequate and hydrogen storage is large enough to supply for peak demand, and that your station gets enough electricity, too (and you’ll need more of it compared to a regular charging station).