Hydrogen balloon transportation: A cheap and efficient mode to transport hydrogen

• Published in: International journal of hydrogen energy Vol. 53; pp. 875 - 884
• Main Authors: Hunt, Julian David, Zakeri, Behnam, Nascimento, Andreas, de Freitas, Marcos Aurélio Vasconcelos, Amorim, Felipe do Carmo, Guo, Fei, Witkamp, Geert-Jan, van Ruijven, Bas, Wada, Yoshihide
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 31-01-2024
• Subjects: Airships; Balloons; Hydrogen; Hydrogen economy; Wind power; Hydrogen economy; Wind power; Airships; Hydrogen; Balloons
• ISSN: 0360-3199
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2023.11.305

The chances of a global hydrogen economy becoming a reality have increased significantly since the COVID pandemic and the war in Ukraine, and for net zero carbon emissions. However, intercontinental hydrogen transport is still a major issue. This study suggests transporting hydrogen as a gas at atmospheric pressure in balloons using the natural flow of wind to carry the balloon to its destination. We investigate the average wind speeds, atmospheric pressure, and temperature at different altitudes for this purpose. The ideal altitudes to transport hydrogen with balloons are 10 km or lower, and hydrogen pressures in the balloon vary from 0.25 to 1 bar. Transporting hydrogen from North America to Europe at a maximum 4 km altitude would take around 4.8 days on average. Hydrogen balloon transportation cost is estimated at 0.08 USD/kg of hydrogen, which is around 12 times smaller than the cost of transporting liquified hydrogen from the USA to Europe. Due to its reduced energy consumption and capital cost, in some locations, hydrogen balloon transportation might be a viable option for shipping hydrogen compared to liquefied hydrogen and other transport technologies.
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•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.