Originally Posted by
Cubdriver
Aviation industry ditches hydrogen development due to high cost.
(
BBC News, M. Fitzpatrick, 11/17) Is the sun setting again on hydrogen-powered aviation? It took just 32 seconds to extinguish faith in the airship and the hydrogen that once buoyed the Hindenburg, which erupted in a fatal inferno 73 years ago. Hydrogen is being dropped again by the aviation industry. But this time the promised "green" fuel for powering flights of the future has been quietly shelved in favour of biofuels and more fossil fuel-sipping aviation. And while hydrogen as a potential "greener" fuel for foreseeable flights gets dumped worldwide, airlines and aircraft manufacturers are also jettisoning their once radical ideas for such hydrogen-burning, sci-fi-like, cryoplanes...
Oh brother. What a huge surprise. Not.
Gaseous H2 takes up tremendous volume...an airliner would need to tow a gasbag the size of the Hindenburg.
Liquid H2 is off the charts for volatility, corrosiveness. It's at the far end of the cryogenic chart, creating even more handling and storage challenges.
It does have great specific energy and is zero-emissions though.