I'll admit I really don't get the fascination with hydrogen as an energy storage medium. It has to be manufactured, so how green it is depends on whatever the power input is coming from. It's not any inherently greener then synthetic hydrocarbon production, which can be produced from atmospheric carbon for zero net carbon impact, and of course has no sulfur or aromatics. It also works fine with existing engineering. And hydrogen is an absolute total bitch to work with. It's got bad density, a really low/really high pressure liquidation point, escapes from everything, embrittles steel, and on and on. The infrastructure has no multiple use, unlike improvements to the grid.
So why not just do full manufacture of regular fuel? I've never understood where hydrogen fits between improving batteries/capacitors and synthetic hydrocarbons. It always seemed like an answer without a question outside of rockets (and even there the economics and practicalities of methalox may be better).
So why not just do full manufacture of regular fuel? I've never understood where hydrogen fits between improving batteries/capacitors and synthetic hydrocarbons. It always seemed like an answer without a question outside of rockets (and even there the economics and practicalities of methalox may be better).