Perspective for the Safe and High-Efficiency Storage of Liquid Hydrogen: Thermal Behaviors and Insulation

Abstract

Liquid hydrogen is a promising energy carrier in the global hydrogen value chain with the advantages of high volumetric energy density/purity, low operating pressure, and high flexibility in delivery. Safe and high-efficiency storage and transportation are essential in the large-scale utilization of liquid hydrogen. Aiming at the two indicators of the hold time and normal evaporation rate (NER) required in standards, this paper focuses on the thermal behaviors of fluid during the no-vented storage of liquid hydrogen and thermal insulations applied for the liquid hydrogen tanks, respectively. After presenting an overview of experimental/theoretical investigations on thermal behaviors, as well as typical forms/testing methods of performance of thermal insulations for liquid hydrogen tanks, seven perspectives are proposed on the key challenges and recommendations for future work. This work can benefit the design and improvement of high-performance LH2 tanks.