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QuineQuest t1_jasplou wrote

Reply to comment by Parchabble in Universal Hydrogen Successfully Completes First Flight of Hydrogen Regional Airliner by tooch_my_gooch

There are alt least two major problems with hydrogen:

  1. Converting from electrical energy to chemical (making hydrogen) and back again is hugely inefficient. As in losses in the 60% range. By comparison, storing the energy in a battery and extracting it again carries about 10% loss.
  2. Hydrogen isn't very dense. It will take up a lot of space. To make a 373-size plane that can cross the Atlantic, there wouldn't be any space left for passengers.
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Parchabble t1_jasut80 wrote

It's this type of thinking that causes us miss out in advancements in technology. The current hydrogen extraction method is Grey Hydrogen which is done using fossil fuels. Since fossil fuels are still a critical aspect to our energy needs, it isn't going away anytime soon. However, trying to figure out how to maximize and efficiently produce blue and green Hydrogen is a critical next step.

Hydrogen has been used in the aerospace industry for awhile now, and Blue Origin and SpaceX are both utilizing it. With commercial aviation taking hydrogen as a serious fuel alternative, a near future ramp up in production will be needed.

Add in the fact that commercial trucking is buying into the Toyota Hydrogen truck and the Nikola and Hyzon are also gaining momentum, the actual users are seeing better buyin and will need a better supply.

The current model of EVs should get more scrutiny than it does. Ford F150 is being scrutinized, but lithium mining as a whole is not great for the environment

I think investment into technology like solid state batteries is great. In fact, Toyota leads the charge in securing patents for that technology as well. But, when innovation drivers like Toyota are looking at something like Hydrogen, it makes sense to take them seriously.

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QuineQuest t1_jasz2gn wrote

Sorry, but you sound like you're paid by Toyota.

Producing green hydrogen isn't anything new - we did it in physics class in school. Maximizing efficiency isn't a new idea either, but there isn't a lot of gains on the front in the horizon.

And yes, Hydrogen-powered, Rocket-propelled space flight is absolutely a thing, but it doesn't have a lot in common with commercial passenger flight as we know it. Those rockets also have a pretty abysmal weight-to-payload factor.

I'm not saying we shouldn't use hydrogen (in fact I'm working for a company that makes elctrolysers for producing green hydrogen). But let's start with the low-hanging fruit: Steel production, fertiliser production. Things that doesn't move at 800 km/h.

Fully charged has more on the subject

Edit: wrong link

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