Which is why hydrogen is so interesting to me, especially solar-generated hydrogen. It’s a pain to store, but if it’s used relatively quickly, the losses should be small enough to make it worthwhile.
The pain with hydrogen storage isn’t just leakage (which is a huge problem because of how small the molecule is), but energy density. Gaseous hydrogen needs either extremely large containers or really extreme pressures (meaning thick, heavy, expensive) and even then its not very much energy storage. To get even higher density requires liquification, which means which is only reached at −253°C (−423°F), and that also requires large expensive machinery and energy to run it.
Unless you’re changing hydrogen into something else (like ammonia), hydrogen isn’t a great solution for energy storage or transportation.
skillissuer@discuss.tchncs.de 3 weeks ago
easy high power generation from hydrogen would be in gas turbines, but this will have horrendous roundtrip efficiency. which is why it’d be better to soak up peak power in hydrogen and use it for non-power uses, like ammonia and then fertilizers, or direct reduced iron, or various hydrogenations in fine chemicals segment. these things take a solid chunk of energy to make. it’s net positive because it replaces gas en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_reforming while storing hydrogen is pain it’s easier than electricity, and some intermediate can be stored too if hydrogen consumption can be surged