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Hydrogen Storage/LOHC Will Hydrogen be as Easy to Use as Gasoline?

From Dominik Stephan 5 min Reading Time

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Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies GmbH
DÜPERTHAL Sicherheitstechnik GmbH & Co. KG
Glatt Ingenieurtechnik GmbH
EDL Anlagenbau Gesellschaft mbH

Hydrogen is the solution to all promises of defossilization – but handling the light gas is surprisingly difficult due to its low density. It would be easier to store the substance in a liquid, as promised by so-called Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers (LOHCs)...

Successful completion of the EU Hystoc project, which uses Hydrogenious' patented LOHC technology and demonstrator plant systems.(Source: Hystoc project)
Successful completion of the EU Hystoc project, which uses Hydrogenious' patented LOHC technology and demonstrator plant systems.
(Source: Hystoc project)

Hydrogen is one of those things: on the one hand, the light gas seems to be a solution for almost every defossilization challenge, but on the other hand, the handling and storage of hydrogen is notoriously difficult. Whether under high pressure or cryogenically, the processes are complex and energy-intensive. It is also not yet clear in many places whether and to what limits the existing infrastructure is suitable for use with hydrogen.

But what if the hydrogen could be bound in a carrier medium at the point of production? Preferably one that is liquid and easy to handle. One possibility is the reaction to ammonia or methanol. However, the energy density of these substances is lower than that of pure H2 and - if elemental hydrogen is required again - the carrier substance must first be decomposed again using energy.

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