A study on the scheme of cold energy recovery for compensating liquefaction in liquid hydrogen energy storage

Abstract As a recognized low-carbon clean energy, hydrogen energy is an important part of the global energy transformation. In the vigorously developed hydrogen energy industry chain of production-storage-transportation-use, cryogenic liquid hydrogen has gradually become an effective means to realize large-scale application of hydrogen energy and long-distance, large-capacity and long-term energy storage, with the advantages of high storage density, low transportation cost and low working pressure. However, in the application of pressurization and gasification, a large amount of high-quality cold energy is wasted, so its recovery and utilization must be considered. In this paper, a technical route is proposed to recover the cold energy through the method of storage and compensate for the liquefier. The system process including electrolyzer, liquefaction and storage, cold energy recovery and utilization, and fuel cell is established, as well as the mathematical models of the main components. The relevant examples are evaluated in terms of efficiency, economy and environment. The cold energy storage methods are analyzed qualitatively. While using cold energy to reduce the power consumption of the liquefaction, it is also necessary to improve the performance of the electrolyzer and fuel cell to improve the overall energy utilization rate and economic feasibility of the system, which adds a new idea for a more complete, diversified and efficient liquid hydrogen energy storage process and hydrogen utilization industry chain.