Hydrogen balloon energy storage

Can balloons transport hydrogen?

A new approach to transporting hydrogen with balloons. Possible paths for hydrogen balloon transportation. Estimation of the optimum altitude to transport hydrogen in balloons. The global potential for hydrogen balloon transportation is accessed.

How much does hydrogen balloon transportation cost?

The estimated investment cost for one hydrogen balloon transportation with 1 km 3 is 260 million USD. This results in a hydrogen transportation cost of 0.08 USD/kg, which is, on average, 12 times cheaper than the cost of transporting H 2 as liquid hydrogen .

How much hydrogen can a balloon deliver a year?

Assuming that the balloon takes an average of 12 days to deliver the hydrogen from the US to Europe and return, a balloon can deliver hydrogen 30 times per year, equivalent to 1,312,500 tons of H 2. The hydrogen transportation cost is estimated at 0.08 USD/kg (260,000,000/9 + 78,000,000)/1,312,500,000).

How does hydrogen balloon transportation work?

The hydrogen balloon transportation process starts with the hydrogen from the grid being depressurized into 1 atm pressure to fill up the balloon. A pressure reduction turbine could be used to recover some of the energy in the pressurized hydrogen .

How much energy does a hydrogen balloon use?

The energy consumption consists of the electricity required to compress 43,750 tons of hydrogen at 0.47–1 bar. Using the equations in Ref. , and assuming that hydrogen is used in fuel cells with 70 % efficiency, around 1.4 % of the energy within the balloon is required to compress the hydrogen.

How does hydrogen balloon transportation altitude affect the cost of Transportation?

The hydrogen balloon transportation altitude impacts the costs of transportation in two main ways: the higher the altitude, the higher the speed of the balloon, but the lower the hydrogen pressure. Thus, the ideal altitude to reduce the transportation cost will depend on the climate conditions and forecasts before releasing the balloon.