Cited by 216Spacecraft and Cryogenic TechnologiesHydrogen Storage and MaterialsPhase Change Materials Research

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 116 of the 116 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 41 of the 168 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

Strategies to recover and minimize boil-off losses during liquid hydrogen storage

Open access
Morales-Ospino, R., Celzard, A., Fierro, V.·2023·Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

This review consolidates the definition, causes, and state of the art of boil-off hydrogen (BOH) during liquid hydrogen (LH2) storage and compares three mitigation/recovery pathways: zero boil-off (ZBO), reliquefaction, and compression. It argues that minimizing or recovering BOH is critical for deploying LH2, but that cost, cryogenic compressor availability, and limited performance data remain key barriers.

Key findings

  • LH2 offers the highest storage density among physical H2 storage methods, but liquefaction is energy-intensive: it consumes an estimated 30–40% of LH2’s energy content, i.e. 8 MJ/L on a lower heating value basis, and ideally requires about 3.92 kWh/kg LH2 versus 0.31 kWh/kg LNG.
  • BOH is caused by heat leakage, ortho-to-para H2 conversion, sloshing, and flashing; spontaneous ortho-to-para conversion alone can vaporize up to 64% of the original LH2. Reported boil-off rates vary widely: NASA’s 3,200 m³ spherical tanks had ~563 kg/day (~0.25%/day), KHI tanks remained below 0.2%, typical spherical vacuum-insulated Dewars range from 0.3–0.5%/day at 50 m³ to ~0.06%/day at 19,000 m³, and some current LH2 tanks may lose 0.3–3%/day.
  • ZBO combines passive insulation with active cryocooling; NASA’s ZBO proof-of-concept tests were conducted in 1998 and 2000, and ZBO-related reductions of almost 90% have been reported for liquid oxygen and nitrogen storage.
  • Reliquefaction can exploit BOH’s low temperature and para-H2 form: one partial reliquefaction study estimated 3.30 kWh/kg LH2 at a 53 K feed, while another reported 8.8–10.8 kWh/kg LH2 as the reliquefaction-to-generation fraction increased from 10 to 100%.
  • Commercial BOH compression at 20 K does not exist; most commercial non-mechanical compressors require preheating because their minimum inlet temperature is above 258 K, except Air Products’ cryogenic compressor. Examples include Linde ionic compressors up to 900 kg/day at 90 MPa and up to 1,344 kg/day at 50 MPa, with energy consumption up to 3.3 kWh/kg H2 and 70 dB noise at 10 m.

Methods

  • Design: narrative review covering LH2 storage fundamentals, BOH formation mechanisms, and three recovery/mitigation strategies: ZBO, hydrogen reliquefaction, and hydrogen compression.
  • Data/sample: no primary experimental sample; the paper synthesizes prior literature, project reports, and commercial manufacturer data, including tables of conceptual H2 liquefaction plant designs and commercial H2 compressors.
  • Main analysis: qualitative and comparative synthesis of reported boil-off rates, liquefaction performance indicators (SEC, EXE), ZBO test outcomes, reliquefaction studies, and compressor specifications.

Limitations

  • The paper states that available data on performance indicators such as EXE and SEC of current large-scale liquefaction plants are very limited, and that commercial compressor information is incomplete—e.g., Air Products provides no footprint or power consumption data, and Hystorsys provides no alloy information.
  • The paper states that ZBO is sophisticated and currently limited to the spacecraft industry, that BOH compressors operating at 20 K do not exist commercially, and that adsorption compressors are not commercially available and still require more thermal-management sophistication.
  • Evident from the text: as a review, it relies on cited studies, simulations, and manufacturer claims rather than primary validation, and several performance figures come from conceptual designs or company brochures rather than independently verified operation.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.rser.2023.113360

Cites

116 of 116 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

70 Own interpretation · 65 No full text of the sources · 24 No basis given · 18 Supported · 17 Sources not found · 14 Partly supported · 10 Not checked yet · 3 Supported so far · 1 Mixed support · 1 Own result · accuracy not yet measured

Verify all 4 references — free account
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 72
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 117
154 of 154
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Deploying LH2 technology in the transportation and energy sector is critical to help decarbonize the global economy.

    “Given the critical importance of deploying LH2 technology in the transportation and energy sector to help decarbonize the global economy, in this paper we present a comprehensive review of the LH2 storage issue”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The three BOH solutions (zero boil-off, reliquefaction, and compression) are the key strategies to minimize or recover boil-off hydrogen.

    “the three different recovery strategies to minimize hydrogen evaporation or recover boil-off hydrogen, namely: zero boiloff, hydrogen reliquefaction, and commercial solutions for boil-off hydrogen compression.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Heat leakage into cryogenic tanks will eventually occur, especially when LH2 storage is planned for long periods.

    “Despite the technological evolution of cryogenic tanks in terms of thermal insulation and materials used to construct the tanks, heat leakage will eventually occur, especially when LH2 storage is planned for long periods.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Thermal conductivity values of multi-layer insulation can be as low as 10 to 50 μW/mK at temperatures between 20 and 300 K.

    “Thermal conductivity values of this insulation mode can be as low as 10 to 50 μW/mK at temperatures between 20 and 300 K.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Regardless of the BOH rate, the need for special design and more robust tank insulation to prevent LH2 evaporation can increase the cost and the weight of the tank and thus reduce the gravimetric energy density of the system.

    “Regardless of the BOH rate, the need for special design and more robust tank insulation to prevent LH2 evaporation can increase the cost and the weight of the tank and thus reduce the gravimetric energy density of the system.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    BOH compressors operating at 20 K do not exist commercially.

    “However, to our knowledge, BOH compressors operating at 20 K do not exist commercially.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    In the space industry, budgetary issues are not a concern.

    “In the space industry, budgetary issues are not a concern”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    No adsorption compressor is commercially available today.

    “To our knowledge, no adsorption compressor is commercially available today.”
8 of 8

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

3 of 3

Citations

Cites

Show all 113 references

Research works printed but not linked: 12

  1. Krenn, 2017, Annular Air Leaks in a liquid hydrogen storage tank, IOP Conf Ser Mater Sci Eng, 278, 10.1088/1757-899x/278/1/012065 · DOI · Paper page
  2. 2017, Kawasaki Heavy industries., Japan's largest liquid hydrogen storage tank, The Intricacies of Keeping Hydrogen at -253°C
  3. Boeva, 2017, Low-temperature ortho–para hydrogen conversion catalyzed by gold nanoparticles: particle size does not affect the rate, Int J Hydrogen Energy, 42, 22897, 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2017.07.187 · DOI · Paper page
  4. Decker, 2020, Liquid hydrogen distribution technology - HYPER closing seminar, Linde, 27
  5. Hedayat, 2003, Large scale demonstration of liquid hydrogen storage with zero boiloff, 1276, 1276
  6. Sadaghiani, 2017, Introducing and energy analysis of a novel cryogenic hydrogen liquefaction process configuration, Int J Hydrogen Energy, 42, 6033, 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2017.01.136 · DOI · Paper page
  7. Walnum, 2012, Principles for the liquefaction of hydrogen with emphasis on precooling processes, Refrigeration Science and Technology, 273
  8. Al Ghafri, 2022, Hydrogen liquefaction: a review of the fundamental physics, engineering practice and future opportunities, Energy Environ Sci, 15, 2690, 10.1039/d2ee00099g · DOI · Paper page
  9. D.L. Ohlig K, Hydrogen liquefaction, Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, [n.d].
  10. Yin, 2020, Process optimization and analysis of a novel hydrogen liquefaction cycle, Int J Refrig, 110, 219, 10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2019.11.004 · DOI
  11. La Porta, 2022, Hydrogen compression, Charting a path for hydrogen transportation, 63
  12. Park, 2022, 20 K H2Physisorption on metal-organic frameworks with enhanced dormancy compared to liquid hydrogen storage, ACS Appl Energy Mater

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Metadata

Authors
Morales-Ospino, R., Celzard, A., & Fierro, V.
Affiliations
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
Corresponding author
Fierro, V.
Venue
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2023-08
Volume
182
Pages
113360
ISSN
1364-0321 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4377223905
Cited by
216
References
113
Citations by year
2026: 82 · 2025: 90 · 2024: 38 · 2023: 6
FWCI
26.30
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (acceptedVersion)
  • HAL (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • U.S. Department of Energy
  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  • Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-22-PEHY-0007)
  • Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
  • European Regional Development Fund (PEPRH2-SOLHYD, TALiSMAN2)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Aerospace Engineering › Spacecraft and Cryogenic Technologies
  • Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Materials Chemistry › Hydrogen Storage and Materials
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Mechanical Engineering › Phase Change Materials Research
Keywords
liquid hydrogen storage, cryogenic storage

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