Hydrogen liquefaction and liquid hydrogen storage

In view of a vast hydrogen infrastructure, very large quantities of hydrogen may be distributed and stored as a liquid at about 20 K (-253°C). Today hydrogen liquefiers are a mature technology for capacities up to 30 tonnes per day and with energy requirements of 30 to 40 MJ per kilogram of liquefied hydrogen, while the World capacity is today around 350 t/day, which is however order of magnitudes lower than the required capacity for fuelling a mobility largely based on hydrogen. Diverse investigations indicate though that liquefier capacity as high as 900 t/day as well as energy requirements as low as 18-25 MJ/kg may be achieved