• Revan343
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    1 year ago

    Hydrogen atoms/molecules are small enough that they slowly phase through the sort of steel you’d use in a CNG or LPG tank, embrittling the steel along the way. Hydrogen tanks need to be made of specially designed alloys, which makes every part of building them more expensive.

    The square-cube law, combined with that fact, means that bigger is generally better with hydrogen tanks. Especially so if it’s cryogenic, which I don’t expect any vehicle tanks to be, not worth the effort, but refuelling depots, probably.

    • Hypx@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      False. They merely need to be lined with something that is resistant to that problem. Nor are those alloys particular difficult to produce either.

      The square-law benefits hydrogen, since the interior grows much faster than the cost of the tank, which is governed by the surface area. In fact, this is why tanks are cheaper than batteries at storing energy.

      • Revan343
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        1 year ago

        The square-law benefits hydrogen, since the interior grows much faster than the cost of the tank, which is governed by the surface area.

        That’s what I said