SPECIAL TOPIC: HYDROGEN applications,” said James Fesmire, GenH2 Chief Architect.“ This initiative has allowed us to develop testing capabilities for thermal insulation systems and produce essential data for unlocking the global potential of liquid hydrogen.”
“ This project is an example of a novel design brought to fruition by a partnership of academia, government agencies, and the energy companies,” said Dr. Ramanan Krishnamoorti, Vice President of Energy and Innovation at the University of Houston.“ The ability to store liquid hydrogen at scale using a non-vacuum design is a pivotal advancement and opens the door to a more flexible, affordable global hydrogen trade infrastructure. Innovative solutions such as this will be key to advancing our energy economy.”
“ This first-of-its-kind concept is a great example of unleashing American energy innovation – a key priority for the Department of Energy. Through collaborative expertise from industry, academic, and government agencies, this work can contribute to America’ s leadership in growing global markets for hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels and offer greater opportunities for American energy operators to store, deploy, and export liquid hydrogen,” said Dr. Sunita Satyapal, director of DOE’ s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office.
CB & I built the first LH2 sphere for NASA and NASA contractors in the 1960s, with a capacity of 170 cubic meters, and has expanded that threshold over the last sixty years by almost 30-fold to 5,000 cubic meters with a tank completed in 2022 at Kennedy Space Center for the Artemis program. CB & I has completed over 130 LH2 storage vessels since the 1960s.
The company and NASA have had a partnership of more than 60 years, with CB & I contributing to many NASA projects, including several supporting the Apollo and Gemini space missions.
JUNE 2025 • FUGITIVE EMISSIONS JOURNAL 25