Hydrogen Recovery System

Liquid hydrogen is used extensively by NASA to support cryogenic rocket testing. In addition, there are many commercial applications in which delivery and use of cryogenic hydrogen is more economical than gaseous hydrogen. Unfortunately, loss of hydrogen resulting from boiloff can both increase the cost of the end product and create safety concerns. Sustainable Innovations and its teammates, The University of Connecticut and FuelCell Energy, Inc., are developing a highly efficient Hydrogen Recovery System (HRS) based on an electrochemical process that converts cool, gaseous hydrogen to pure, high pressure hydrogen that can be stored for subsequent use. We anticipate that this can bring significant cost savings to NASA's rocket test facilities, and open up exciting new avenues for product commercialization.

Large amounts of cryogenic hydrogen are utilized in high-volume merchant hydrogen applications. Hydrogen boiloff is a critical cost and safety factor for each of these applications. The development of a means of capturing and recycling this hydrogen in the form of a high pressure, storable gas can yield significant economic benefits to the end user.

NASA currently uses large amounts of cryogenic hydrogen to support cryogenic rocket testing. Much of this hydrogen is lost during the test process due to boil-off resulting from heat transferred into the equipment. Recovery and recycle of this hydrogen can provide a significant cost savings for NASA's test facilities. In addition, regenerative fuel cells are being examined as a potentially viable technology for energy storage in both space vehicles and planetary/lunar bases. The ability to efficiently store gaseous hydrogen is a critical capability in this application. The technology being developed as part of the HRS can be instrumental in assisting with this energy storage requirement.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 4) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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