Design and Transportation Economics Analysis of a Cryogenic High-Pressure Hydrogen Storage System Based on a Liquid Nitrogen Cold Shield

• • The system achieves a gravimetric hydrogen storage capacity of 999.68 kg within a 40-foot container, corresponding to a volumetric efficiency of 64 kg/m³, which is three times the payload of conventional high-pressure tube trailers (typically ~330 kg). This tripling of capacity directly reduces the number of trips required per unit of hydrogen delivered, cutting logistics costs and improving supply chain throughput for industrial consumers. • • A 200 mm diameter tube bundle is identified as the optimal design point via hexagonal packing optimization. Increasing tube diameter beyond 200 mm yields diminishing returns: a 400 mm bundle would only increase storage volume by 1.2% and reduce mass by 4.9%, while likely exacerbating thermal gradients and manufacturing complexity. This threshold provides a clear engineering guideline for balancing capacity against structural and thermal performance. • • The integration of a liquid nitrogen cold shield (static evaporation rate 0.25%/d) with high-vacuum multilayer insulation extends the lossless storage period to 118 days. This is a critical operational threshold: it exceeds typical mission durations for intercontinental transport and seasonal storage, enabling hydrogen to be stored without boil-off losses for nearly four months, thereby minimizing product loss and eliminating the need for costly re-liquefaction or venting. • • For transport distances of 200–800 km and daily throughputs of 500–1500 kg, the system reduces unit transportation cost by 73.2% compared to high-pressure tube trailers and requires 54.2% less initial investment than liquid hydrogen tankers. This cost parity makes cryogenic high-pressure storage economically viable for medium-scale, medium-to-long-distance routes, bridging the gap between low-capacity tube trailers and capital-intensive liquid hydrogen infrastructure.