doi: 10.52899/24141437_2026_02_241
UDK: 516.11.

Safe hydrogen storage methods for underwater vehicles

Хруцкий О. В., Сеньков А. П., Крюков А. А., Глазырина Д. О.
Article language:
Citation Link: Khrutsky OV, Senkov AP, Glazyrina DO, Kryukov AA. Safe Hydrogen Storage Methods for Underwater Vehicles. Transactions of the Saint Petersburg State Marine Technical University. 2026;5(1):241–250. DOI:10.52899/24141437_2026_02_241 EDN: NFIPIS

Annotation

The transition of underwater shipbuilding to fuel cell power systems requires solving the key problem of the low density of gaseous hydrogen and the associated explosion and fire hazards in confined compartments. Known hydrogen storage methods (compressed gas, cryogenic liquid, metal hydrides, liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC), adsorption, chemical donors) have been developed primarily for land or surface applications and do not account for the strict constraints of underwater vehicles in terms of volume, mass, stealth, and safety during long-term autonomous navigation. This work, for the first time, systematically evaluates these methods specifically against the criteria of underwater technology, revealing not isolated advantages but the fundamental impossibility of meeting all requirements with any single method. As a result of a comparative analysis of six approaches, it was found that the highest volumetric density (108–150 kg H₂/m³) and long-term storage safety are provided by chemically bound forms—ammonia, LOHC, and metal hydrides; however, metal hydrides have low gravimetric efficiency and slow gas release, while ammonia requires high-temperature cracking. Compressed and cryogenic hydrogen, in contrast, allow rapid fuel delivery but are associated with continuous leakage or the risk of catastrophic failure. Based on the obtained data, a hybrid scheme is proposed that is absent from known analogues: the main hydrogen reserve is stored as ammonia or LOHC (high density and safety), while peak loads during maneuvering are compensated by rechargeable batteries that are recharged during the mission by the electrochemical generator. From reading the full text of the article, the reader learns for the first time a quantitative justification for precisely such a hybrid architecture for manned underwater vehicles, including recommendations for selecting buffer systems and directions for further development of low-temperature dehydrogenation catalysts. Keywords: hydrogen energy, underwater vehicles, hydrogen storage, fuel cells, metal hydrides, liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC), cryogenic storage, compressed hydrogen, ammonia, explosion safety, autonomy

Bibliography

Savchenko OV, Polovinkin VN. Current state, problems and prospects of development of domestic commercial shipbuilding. Transactions of the Krylov State Research Centre. 2022;(3):152–164. doi: 10.24937/2542-2324-2022-3-401-152-164 EDN: KQCNFY
Burkov A.F., Mihanoshin V.V., Nguen V.H. Electrochemical power sources for marine combined propulsion electric installations. Trends in Science and Education. 2021;(702):97–100. doi: 10.18411/lj-02-2021-63 EDN: WTBNLX
Stolten D., Emonts B. Hydrogen Science and Engineering. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH; 2016. 1220 p.
Moradi R, Groth KM. Hydrogen storage and delivery: review of the state-of-the-art technologies and risk analysis. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. 2019;44(23):12254–12269. doi: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.03.041 EDN: WZBUF
Ewan BC, Allen RW. A figure of merit assessment of the routes to hydrogen. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. 2005;30:809–819. doi: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2005.02.003
Aleksin EN. Methods of hydrogen storage and production on a submarine [dissertation abstract]. Saint Petersburg; 2013. 21 p. (In Russ.) EDN: SVDBND
Shamanov NP, Kalmykov AN. Electrochemical transport power plants with hydrogen fuel. Saint Petersburg: Saint Petersburg State Marine Technical University; 2006. 305 p. (In Russ.) EDN: QNEKDN
Andersson J, Grönkvist S. Largescale storage of hydrogen. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. 2019;44(23):11901–11919. doi: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.03.063 EDN: WYOWCS
Kurochkin LE, Istomin VI. Environmental safety on marine vessels. Moscow: Tsentrkatalog; 2020. 108 p. (In Russ.) EDN: URWVZT
Züttel A. Materials for hydrogen storage. Materials Today. 2003;6(9):24–33. doi: 10.1016/S1369-7021(03)00922-2
Tarasov BP, Lototsky MV. Hydrogen and metal hydride energy technologies: a textbook. Ed. by Bulychev BM, Klyuev MV. Chernogolovka: Federal Research Center of Problems of Chemical Physics and Medicinal Chemistry RAS; 2024. 250 p. (In Russ.) ISBN: 978-5-91845-114-4
Teichmann D, Wolfgang A, Wasserscheid P, Freymann R. A future energy supply based on LOHC. Energy & Environmental Science. 2011;4(8):2767–2773. doi: 10.1039/C1EE01454D
Preuster P, Papp C, Wasserscheid P. Liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs): toward a hydrogenfree hydrogen economy. Accounts of Chemical Research. 2017;50(1):74–85. doi: 10.1021/acs.accounts.6b00474 EDN: YFSKTJ
Stolten D. Hydrogen and Fuel Cells. Weinheim: WileyVCH; 2010. 878 p. ISBN: 978-3-527-32711-9
Popper AN, Hawkins A. Effects of noise on aquatic life. New York: Springer; 2016. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4419-7311-5
Patent RU 2715053/27.04.2021. Tsfasman GYu, Dedkov AK, Devaev SA, et al. System for cryogenic storage and supply of reagents for a power plant with electrochemical generators [cited May 04, 2026]. Available from: https://patents.google.com/patent/RU2715053C1/ru
Patent RU 2153622/04.05.2026. Fedotov V.K., Vorontsov V.V., Nikitin V.A. Device for storage and supply of cryogenic products [cited May 04, 2026]. Available from: https://patents.google.com/patent/RU2153622C1/ru
Millet P, Grigoriev S. Water electrolysis technologies. In: Renewable hydrogen technologies: production, purification, storage, applications and safety. 2013. P. 19–41. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-444-56352-1.00002-7 EDN: UERAAN
Tarasov BP, Lototsky MV. Hydrogen and metal hydride energy technologies: a textbook. Ed. by Bulychev BM, Klyuev MV. Chernogolovka: Federal Research Center of Problems of Chemical Physics and Medicinal Chemistry RAS; 2024. 250 p. (In Russ.) ISBN: 978-5-91845-114-4
Pavlov NS, Kryukov AA. Prospects for the use of intermetallic hydrogen storage systems. In: The best research work: collection of articles of the International Research Competition. Petrozavodsk: Novaya Nauka; 2026. P. 23–27. (In Russ.) EDN: BVSQFI
Kojima Y. Hydrogen storage materials for hydrogen and energy carriers. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. 2019;44(33):18179–18192. doi: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.05.119 EDN: TCURAE
Makaryan IA, Sedov IV, Maksimov AL. Hydrogen storage using liquid organic carriers (review). Russian Journal of Applied Chemistry. 2020;93(12):1716–1729. doi: 10.31857/S0044461820120038 EDN: TDRRGC
Makaryan IA, Sedov IV. Hydrogenation/dehydrogenation catalysts for hydrogen storage systems based on liquid organic carriers (review). Petroleum Chemistry. 2021;61(5):591–605. doi: 10.31857/S0028242121050026 EDN: CUOBXX