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New graphite fiber tanks offer up to 10x more liquid hydrogen storage

A NASA award-winning hydrogen fuel cell pioneer has partnered with a hydrogen tank maker to create new graphite fiber tanks that offer unprecedented liquid hydrogen storage -- as much as 10 times more capacity compared with existing fuel tanks. The tanks could be used on passenger planes and electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles in the future.

A BHL Cryotank is held by Zachary Taylor, vice president of Engineering at GTL. [Credit: GTL/HyPoint]

 

 

HyPoint, a company developing zero carbon-emission turbo air-cooled hydrogen fuel cell systems for aviation and urban air mobility, recently announced a partnership with Gloyer-Taylor Laboratories (GTL), an aerospace engineering research and development company, to integrate GTL's advanced carbon composite BHL Cryotank liquid hydrogen fuel tanks with HyPoint's fuel cell system.

BHL Cryotanks have demonstrated a 75% mass reduction compared to existing state-of-the-art aerospace cryotanks (metal or composite), enabling hydrogen aircraft and electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle makers to store as much as 10 times more liquid hydrogen fuel without adding mass. As a result, aircraft can travel longer distances without refueling.

"Reducing weight is the most important factor for enabling longer-distance air travel with fewer stops to refuel," said Dr. Alex Ivanenko, founder and CEO of HyPoint. "Our hydrogen fuel cell system offers better specific power performance compared with any alternative available today, opening the door to short-haul, zero-emission hydrogen flight and urban air mobility. This partnership with GTL goes even further by offering aircraft and eVTOL makers a liquid hydrogen tank that is stronger and lighter than anything else on the market, thereby significantly increasing fuel capacity. By utilizing this new fuel tank technology, longer-haul aircraft may be able to utilize hydrogen for the first time, while eVTOL makers can effectively multiply their flight range and operational time."

GTL specializes in developing advanced composite prototypes and technologies for aerospace and has won numerous development contracts with NASA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the U.S. Air Force, and others. GTL incorporates many polymer-composite manufacturing processes, including filament winding, hand layup, and fiber placement, to produce composite components. GTL has fabricated and tested multiple BHL Cryotanks at a range of scales that have been demonstrated to be leak-tight even after repeated cryo-thermal pressure cycles. This technology has achieved TRL 5+ and is compatible with a variety of cryogenic propellants including liquid oxygen, liquid methane, and liquid hydrogen.

The BHL Cryotank pictured in this article (held by Zachary Taylor, vice president of Engineering at GTL) measures 2.4 m long with a 1.2-m diameter and weighs 12 kg (roughly 26 lb). When a skirt and vacuum dewar shell are added, the total system weight is 67 kg. This particular tank system can hold over 150 kg of liquid hydrogen, giving it a hydrogen storage ratio of at least 50% (the weight of stored hydrogen fuel relative to total system weight), which is as much as 10 times greater than current state-of-the-art fuel tanks. According to the tank's creators, aircraft equipped with GTL dewar tank technology could achieve as much as four times the range of a conventional aircraft using aviation fuel, cutting aircraft operating costs by an estimated 50% on a dollar-per-passenger-mile basis.

"Based on our internal analysis of a De Havilland Canada Dash 8 Q300, which seats 50 to 56 passengers, the standard PW123B engine would typically support a range of 1,558 kilometers," said Sergei Shubenkov, co-founder and head of R&D at HyPoint. "By implementing HyPoint's system and a standard liquid hydrogen tank, the same aircraft could achieve five hours of flight time or a max range of 2,640 kilometers. With GTL's tank, it could fly for 8.5 hours or a max range of 4,488 kilometers, indicating that this aircraft could fly three times farther with zero emissions by using HyPoint and GTL compared with conventional aviation fuel. That's the difference between this plane going from New York to Chicago with high carbon emissions versus New York to San Francisco with zero carbon emissions."

"Similar to the carbon fiber that is used in racing bikes, our carbon-composite technology adds strength and durability while significantly reducing weight," said Paul Gloyer, president and CEO of GTL. "With BHL Cryotanks, larger aircraft such as jumbo jets will be able to utilize hydrogen fuel for cross-country flights at least a decade earlier than expected. Similarly, eVTOL and drone makers can significantly extend their range and/or flight time, opening new markets and opportunities."

Source: HyPoint

Published August 2023

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