EP-4740254-A1 - ADAPTIVE FILLING SYSTEM FOR HYDROGEN FUEL TANKS

EP4740254A1EP 4740254 A1EP4740254 A1EP 4740254A1EP-4740254-A1

Abstract

The present disclosure provides adaptive filling systems for use with liquid hydrogen-fuel tank modules. The adaptive filling systems determine, for each tank module, an optimal filling pressure based on passive pressurization due to parasitic heat transfer into the hydrogen-fuel tank during storage and transit. The adaptive filling systems identify a particular hydrogen-fuel tank module, the aircraft it will be loaded onto, the aircraft's estimated time of departure (ETD), the filling time, and the locations of the tank module and the aircraft. The systems fill different hydrogen-fuel tanks at different pressures in order to account for varying periods for storage and transit from the corresponding filling location to the corresponding aircraft or storage location.

Inventors

COUTANT, Theophile
MACDONALD, Nick
BLANES, Daniel Costa
VALADON, STEPHANE

Assignees

SAS Beyond Aerospace

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20231220

Claims (20)

1. An adaptive filling system for filling liquid hydrogen fuel storage modules, the system comprising: liquid hydrogen fuel storage modules transportable to a filling station for filling with liquid hydrogen fuel; and a control unit operably coupleable to the filling station, wherein the control unit includes one or more processors configured to execute instructions to, for each of the storage modules: receive a unique identifier, a transportation and storage period between the filling station and a vehicle, and an operational requirement of the vehicle; determine a filling pressure; and communicate the determined filling pressure to the filling station, wherein the storage module with the unique identifier is configured to be filled with liquid hydrogen fuel at the determined filling pressure at the filling station, wherein the storage modules are configured to be subject to parasitic heat transfer at a passive pressurization rate during the transportation and storage period, and wherein the filling pressure is determined based on the transportation and storage period, the operational requirement of the vehicle, and the passive pressurization rate.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the operational requirement of the vehicle is a target hydrogen fuel pressure, and wherein the filling pressure is a difference between (i) the target hydrogen fuel pressure and (ii) a product between the transportation and storage period and the passive pressurization rate.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the target hydrogen fuel pressure ranges between 6 bar and 8 bar.
4. The system of claim 2, wherein the passive pressurization rate ranges between 0.05 bar/hour and 0.2 bar/hour.
5. The system of claim 2, wherein the passive pressurization rate ranges between 0.1 bar/hour and 0.15 bar/hour.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the transportation and storage period is based on real-time traffic data between the filling station and the vehicle.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to, for each storage module, receive a schedule of the vehicle; and determine a time at which the storage module is to be filled with liquid hydrogen fuel at the determined filling pressure at the filling station, wherein the time is based on the schedule of the vehicle and the transportation and storage period.
8. The system of claim 1, further comprising an active pressurization system configured to pressurize the storage module at an active pressurization rate prior to the storage module being loaded onto the vehicle upon determining that the storage module does not meet the operational requirement of the vehicle, wherein the active pressurization rate is greater than the passive pressurization rate.
9. The system of claim 8, wherein the active pressurization system includes a hydrogen recirculation assembly couplable to the storage module and configured to recirculate warmed and compressed hydrogen back into the storage module until the storage module meets the operational requirement of the vehicle.
10. The system of claim 8, wherein the active pressurization system includes an electric heater configured to heat the storage module until the control unit determines that the storage module meets the operational requirement of the vehicle.
11. The system of claim 8, wherein the operational requirement of the vehicle comprises a target hydrogen fuel pressure.
12. A method of a filling a portable liquid hydrogen fuel storage tank for use on a hydrogen powered vehicle, the comprising: identifying a first unique identifier associated with the liquid hydrogen fuel storage tank located at a filling location remote from the hydrogen powered vehicle, wherein the liquid hydrogen fuel storage tank has tank characteristics that includes tank capacity and allowable pressurization levels; identifying a second unique identifier associated with the hydrogen powered vehicle; designating the liquid hydrogen fuel storage tank for transportation to, installation on, and use with the hydrogen powered vehicle via the first and second unique identifiers; determining travel schedule information of the hydrogen powered vehicle, wherein the travel schedule information includes an estimated departure time and travel plan; determining distance and delivery schedule information for the liquid hydrogen fuel storage tank from the filling station to the hydrogen powered vehicle; determining a storage time period for storing the liquid hydrogen fuel storage tank after receiving liquid hydrogen and before delivery and installation on the hydrogen powered vehicle; and filling the liquid hydrogen fuel storage tank with a selected mass of liquid hydrogen from the filling station based on the tank characteristics, the travel schedule information, the distance and delivery schedule information, and the storage time period, to maximize the mass of hydrogen added to the liquid hydrogen fuel storage tank and minimize hydrogen fuel loss through venting after filling of the liquid hydrogen fuel storage tank and before delivery of the filled liquid hydrogen fuel storage tank to the hydrogen powered vehicle.
13. The method of claim 12, further comprising transporting the filled liquid hydrogen fuel storage tank from the filling station to the hydrogen powered vehicle.
14. The method of claim 13, further comprising loading the filled liquid hydrogen fuel storage tank onto the hydrogen powered vehicle and coupling the tank to a hydrogen fuel system of the hydrogen powered vehicle.
15. The method of claim 12, further comprising filling the liquid hydrogen fuel storage tank with the liquid hydrogen to an initial fill pressure, transporting the filled liquid hydrogen fuel storage tank from the filling station to the hydrogen powered vehicle, and allowing a pressure in the tank to increase from the initial fill pressure to an elevated second pressure based on pressurization through passive pressurization.
16. The method of claim 12 wherein the hydrogen powered vehicle is an aircraft, and further comprising delivering the filled liquid hydrogen fuel storage tank to the aircraft remote from the filling station.
17. The method of claim 12 wherein the liquid hydrogen tank is in a portable fuel module, and filling the liquid hydrogen tank includes filling the liquid hydrogen fuel storage tank in the module.
18. The method of claim 12 wherein the liquid hydrogen fuel storage tank is in a portable, refillable hydrogen fuel tank, and wherein filling the liquid hydrogen fuel storage tank comprising refilling the refillable hydrogen fuel tank that has been previously filled and depleted of liquid hydrogen fuel.
19. The method of claim 12, further comprising determining environmental conditions at the hydrogen powered vehicle’s location and the filling station.
20. The method of claim 19 wherein filling the liquid hydrogen fuel storage tank includes filling the liquid hydrogen fuel storage tank with a selected mass of liquid hydrogen also based on the environmental conditions.

Description

ADAPTIVE FILLING SYSTEM FOR HYDROGEN FUEL TANKS CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] The present application is a PCT International Patent Application that claims priority to U.S. Nonprovisional Patent Application No. 18/389,607, titled ADAPTIVE FILLING SYSTEM FOR HYDROGEN FUEL TANKS, filed December 19, 2023, and claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/512,542, titled ADAPTIVE FILLING SYSTEM FOR HYDROGEN FUEL TANKS, filed July 7, 2023, both of which are fully incorporated herein by reference thereto. TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] The present disclosure relates to filling systems for portable fuel tanks, and more particularly to filling systems for hydrogen-fuel tanks for use with aircraft or other vehicles. BACKGROUND [0003] Hydrogen is a clean energy source that can be used to power various vehicles, including aircraft or other vehicles. The hydrogen fuel is typically stored in tanks or other selected vessels as a gaseous fuel or stored at cryogenic conditions in a liquid state. Hydrogen fuel provides a distinct advantage over other types of power sources. For example, aviation gas or jet fuel has specific energies that may generally range from about 43 MJ/kg to about 48 MJ/kg. In contrast, hydrogen has a specific energy of 120 - 140 MJ/kg. As such, 1 kg of hydrogen can provide the same amount of energy as about 3 kg of gasoline or kerosene. Thus, using hydrogen as a fuel source for vehicles can reduce the fuel weight onboard vehicles while providing a comparable amount of energy as other traditional sources of fuel. Further, consuming hydrogen for fuel may emit benign or nontoxic byproducts, such as water, while eliminating carbon dioxide emissions, thereby reducing the environmental impacts of various modes of transportation that use hydrogen as a fuel source. [0004] Liquid hydrogen is typically stored in vessels under cryogenic conditions. Long term storage of liquid hydrogen in tanks is very challenging and significant amounts of hydrogen can be lost as a result of venting needed to maintain safe pressures within the tanks. This challenge is even more significant for portable tanks that may be usable on aircraft or other vehicles. Accordingly, there is a need for improved filling and storage systems for liquid hydrogen or other fuel stored at cryogenic conditions for use by aircraft or other vehicles. SUMMARY [0005] The technology of the present disclosure overcomes drawbacks of conventional technology and provides additional benefits. For example, one or more embodiments of the present technology provide an adaptive filling system for filling reusable, swappable liquid hydrogen storage modules configured to be easily and quickly swapped with other similar liquid hydrogen storage modules. Each storage module has an identifier unique to that module. The adaptive filling system includes a control unit that receives the unique identifier for the associated storage module. For each storage module, the control unit receives a Distribution Cycle Time (“DCT”) corresponding to a storage and transportation period between the module being filled at a filling station and the module being delivered to a designated vehicle. The control unit also receives information about the operational requirement of the vehicle designated to receive the liquid hydrogen storage module. For each identified storage module, the control unit uses the information about the storage module, the DCT information and the designated vehicle operational requirement information, and the control unit calculates a filling pressure and communicates the filling pressure to a filling station. The filling station then fills the designated storage module with liquid hydrogen at the calculated filling pressure. Although minimized by design, the storage modules are not perfectly thermally insulated and are subject to parasitic heat transfer, which leads to a passive pressurization during the transportation and/or storage period. The filling pressure calculated and used at filling is based on the aggregated period of distribution, transportation, and storage, the operational requirements of the end use vehicle, and the passive pressurization rate. [0006] Another embodiment of the present technology provides a method of filling a swappable liquid hydrogen storage tank for use on a hydrogen-powered vehicle. The method includes identifying a first unique identifier associated with the liquid hydrogen storage tank located at a filling location remote from the hydrogen-powered vehicle. The liquid hydrogen storage tank has characteristics that include tank capacity and allowable pressurization levels. A second unique identifier associated with the hydrogen powered vehicle is also identified. The method includes designating the liquid hydrogen storage tank for transportation to and installation and use on the hydrogen powered vehicle via the first and second unique identifiers. Travel schedule information of the hy