Hydrogen, but not as we know it

Hydrogen is bandied about by many authors as the solution to all our energy challenges. Consuming it in a fuel cell vehicle or turbine, the proponents frequently remind us, produces just water, rather than the dreaded CO2 produced by fossil fuels.

Gaseous hydrogen plasma (purple) in a discharge tube

The hydrogen that we increasingly read about is gaseous hydrogen, a component of the air that we breathe. As opposed to cryogenically-cooled liquid hydrogen, which is combusted in space rockets. Gases, as our teachers taught us at school, have the advantage of being compressible, unlike liquids, and whilst in vehicles this requires expensive carbon-fibre tanks, this helps to overcome the lower energy density of hydrogen relative to petroleum-based fuels like diesel.

But pure hydrogen in gaseous form can unleash terrifying results: the airship Hindenburg's explosion resulted from the ignition of its hydrogen envelope, and the viral video showing an explosion at Fukushima Daiichi was a result of runaway hydrogen expansion. It also embrittles steel and, due to its tiny atoms, can squeeze through almost any seal, requiring expensive mitigating precautions.

An alternative is a Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier, of LOHC. These are liquids capable of carrying highly saturated levels of hydrogen, which can be coaxed to give up their hydrogen content. Unlike the liquid hydrogen contained in the huge orange tank beneath the Space Shuttle, LOHCs don't need to be cooled, and can be carried in tanks and pipes virtually free of precautions.

Whilst not perfect - the process of hydrogenation and subsequent dehydrogenation is likely less efficient than dis/charging a battery - they are worthy of further investigation for use in heavy duty applications like trucking, aviation and power generation.

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