Monday, December 20, 2021

Moran Innovation 2021 Highlights

NASA KSC LC39B New Liquid Hydrogen Dewar Tank (left: under construction in 2020, right: near completion in 2021)


  • Hydrogen Systems Development: Past, Present and Future. Seminar presentation to LTA Research on the evolution of hydrogen systems in aerospace along with present day state-of-the-art technologies and future hydrogen systems. A publicly available abstract and version of the presentation package can be found here.
  • Densified and No-Loss (Zero Boil-off) Liquid Hydrogen Systems. An overview of these systems along with safety considerations and proven mitigations presented at the Center for Hydrogen Safety Asia-Pacific Conference 2021. The abstract, video and presentations slides can be found here.
  • Liquid Hydrogen Drones and Microgrids. US Air Force funded project to demonstrate extended duration drones and integrated hydrogen energy storage for base operations under subcontract to NEOEx Systems. A $10 million earmark from the 2022 US federal defense appropriation budget will support further development of liquid hydrogen refueling systems.
  • Lunar Human Landing System (HLS). Support to NASA under subcontract to HX5 as a subject matter expert in cryogenic fluid management for the SpaceX HLS development of the first commercial human lander that will safely carry astronauts to the lunar surface.
  • Long Term Liquid Hydrogen Storage. Support to NASA under subcontract to HX5 for the Lockheed Martin Tipping Point testing of more than a dozen cryogenic fluid management technologies, positioning them for infusion into future space systems.
  • Orbital Cryogenic Propellant Transfer. Support to NASA under subcontract to HX5 for the SpaceX Tipping Point large-scale flight demonstration to transfer cryogenic propellant, specifically liquid oxygen, between tanks on a Starship vehicle.
  • New design tools and training courses. Several new software tools for liquid hydrogen systems and cryogenic fluid management were created in 2021. Training courses on these topic areas are also under development and planned for rollout in 2022.
  • Lunar ice mining concept. "Down Under Excavation and Transport (DUET) Lunar Mining System (LuMiS)", Free J., Cannard S., Sciortino J., Rhatigan J., Haberbusch M., Moran M. Submitted to the NASA Break the Ice Challenge and presented at the 2021 Lunar Surface Science Workshop.
  • Other news. See the Moran Innovation website and blog at LH2era.com for more in depth information and news on hydrogen, propulsion, and power systems.


Matt Moran is the Managing Member at Moran Innovation LLC, and previous Managing Partner at Isotherm Energy. He's been developing power and propulsion systems for more than 40 years; and first-of-a-kind liquid, slush and gaseous hydrogen systems since the mid-1980s. Matt was also the Sector Manager for Energy & Materials in his last position at NASA where he worked for 31 years. He's been a cofounder in seven technology based start-ups; and provided R&D and engineering support to many industrial, government and research organizations. Matt has three patents and more than 50 publications including the Cryogenic Fluid Management report series. More about him can be found here.

Sunday, October 31, 2021

Densified Liquid Hydrogen and No-Loss (Zero Boil-off) Systems




Conference: Center for Hydrogen Safety (CHS) Asia-Pacific Conference, Nov 30 - Dec 2, 2021 AEST (Nov 29 - Dec 1 PST)

Abstract: Liquid hydrogen (LH2) can be thermodynamically conditioned to increase storage density compared to normal boiling point conditions in a process known as densification. A variety of methods to produce densified hydrogen have been successfully demonstrated using vacuum pumping or cryo-refrigeration. Additional system advantages beyond increased storage capacity include: increased cooling capacity for longer storage times or heat sink functions; greater vehicle payloads and/or range; higher mass flow rates; smaller hydrogen delivery components; and the potential for more efficient oxidizer-fuel ratios for some applications. No-loss LH2 systems have been demonstrated using cryo-refrigeration which enables zero boil-off storage and transfer operations. Gaseous hydrogen can also be liquified or re-liquefied in either continuous or batch processes. Additionally, high pressure and temperature LH2 can be thermodynamically conditioned to colder and lower pressure conditions without venting using cryo-refrigeration. The resulting system can operate for years without any boil-off losses. In the case of all these densified and zero boil-off LH2 systems, a key safety risk is the potential for subatmospheric conditions within the storage vessel and other fluid system components. The associated potential for air in-leakage and structural buckling failures can result in a catastrophic event. Proven mitigation methods are presented to manage this risk.



Video: 






Matt Moran is the Managing Member at Moran Innovation LLC, and previous Managing Partner at Isotherm Energy. He's been developing power and propulsion systems for more than 40 years; and first-of-a-kind liquid, slush and gaseous hydrogen systems since the mid-1980s. Matt was also the Sector Manager for Energy & Materials in his last position at NASA where he worked for 31 years. He's been a cofounder in seven technology based start-ups; and provided R&D and engineering support to many industrial, government and research organizations. Matt has three patents and more than 50 publications including the Cryogenic Fluid Management report series. More about him can be found here.

Saturday, October 9, 2021

Hydrogen Systems Development: Past, Present and Future



Technological evolution often requires decades of incubation and advancement in a variety of fields before large scale commercial adoption is achieved. Hydrogen has followed these trends since its discovery in the late 1700’s and subsequent application for wide ranging industrial uses. Liquid hydrogen (LH2) has been in routine and continuous use in the space program since the early 1960’s. However, many are not aware that its roots in aerospace trace much further back in aviation to the initial jet engine research and development in the late 1930’s; and later with successful flight demonstrations of a liquid hydrogen fueled jet engine in the mid-1950’s.

Modern LH2 systems make use of vacuum jacketed dewars for long term storage on the ground. Flight vehicles have used single wall tanks with foam insulation which significantly reduces mass but is only viable if the consumption rate in flight is greater than the boil-off venting required to meet tank pressure constraints. Composite LH2 tanks of various types (with or without metal inner liners) have been attempted over the years with mixed success and are still under development.

Safety with LH2 is a paramount priority. Key drivers are related to hydrogen’s properties, LH2 cryogenic temperatures, and liquid-vapor phase change within the system. Many legacy standards, codes and guidelines exist for LH2, and many more are in active formulation or revision. The three primary mantras to remember when designing and operating hydrogen systems is: 1) provide ventilation, 2) prevent leaks, and 3) eliminate ignition sources. Understanding the thermodynamic behavior of LH2 systems during various operations is also critical.

The development of future hydrogen systems can be optimized using an adaptive systems approach that treats hydrogen as a critical enabler in an overall system architecture rather than simply a commodity fuel. Selecting architecture options permit trade studies of candidate system concepts that can be assessed on the basis of technical, economic, environmental impact, and other key performance metrics. The end result is the ability to optimize systems for a multitude of hydrogen applications that can then be modeled, simulated, developed, assembled, and put into operation. Further, the proven ability to eliminate boil-off losses in LH2 systems - and provide better performing and sustainable propulsion and power relative to legacy fossil fuel systems - will play a key role in the global transition to hydrogen





Matt Moran is the Managing Member at Moran Innovation LLC, and previous Managing Partner at Isotherm Energy. He's been developing power and propulsion systems for more than 40 years; and first-of-a-kind liquid, slush and gaseous hydrogen systems since the mid-1980s. Matt was also the Sector Manager for Energy & Materials in his last position at NASA where he worked for 31 years. He's been a cofounder in seven technology based start-ups; and provided R&D and engineering support to many industrial, government and research organizations. Matt has three patents and more than 50 publications including the Cryogenic Fluid Management report series. More about him can be found here.