Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Boil-off hydrogen (BOH) loss from liquid hydrogen (LH2) storage and transfer infrastructure poses a critical challenge to the use of hydrogen in emerging aviation, space, and heavy-duty mobility applications. As LH2 infrastructure expands, it becomes paramount to identify strategies to minimize BOH loss, enhance exergy efficiency, and reduce hydrogen leakage. This work presents a detailed techno-economic comparison of BOH management, including novel process designs for 5–8 metric tonnes per day high flow rate BOH recovery and compression up to 100, 350, or 700 bar, from BOH at 2 bar, 60 K. Compression systems include a thermally integrated three-stage mechanical compressor-intercooler, a cryogenic re-liquefaction-vaporization cryo-pump, and four best-in-class metal hydride (MH)-based chemical compressors, with and without thermal integration. The re-liquefaction-vaporization pathway (<$3/kg-BOH at 90% cumulative probability for 350 bar) reduces compression cost by 31% compared with best-in-class 350 bar MH systems, and by 19% and 30% for 100 bar and 700 bar MH systems. Mechanical compression systems are the most expensive, however all compression systems look favorable compared with venting of BOH at current market prices for LH2.