Liquid Hydrogen as a Fuel for the Future

Abstract

The use of liquid hydrogen as a long-term replacement for hydrocarbon fuel for land and air transportation seems technically feasible. It is an ideal fuel from the standpoint of a completely cyclic system, serving as a "working substance" in a closed chemical and thermodynamic cycle. The energy-per-unit-weight advantage (a factor of 3) over gasoline or any other hydrocarbon fuel makes liquid hydrogen particularly advantageous for air craft and long-range land transport. As a pollution-free fuel, it must be seriously considered as the logical replacement for hydrocarbons in the 21st century.