Hydrogen Storage in Wind Turbine Towers: Design Considerations; Preprint

The paramount considerations associated with a hydrogen tower are corrosion (in the form of hydrogen embrittlement) and structural failure (through bursting or fatigue life degradation). Although hydrogen embrittlement (HE) requires more research and experimentation, it does not appear to prohibit the use of turbine towers for hydrogen storage. Furthermore, the structural modifications requiredto store hydrogen in a tower are technically feasible. We discovered that hydrogen towers have a 'crossover pressure' at which their critical mode of failure crosses over from fatigue to bursting. The crossover pressure for many turbine towers is between 10 and 15 atm. The cost of hydrogen storage per unit of storage capacity is lowest near the crossover pressure. Above the crossover pressure,however, storage costs rise quickly.