Design, Analysis and Optimisation of a Vacuum-Insulated Composite Conformal LH2 Tank
Loading...
Date
Authors
Noordman, B.A.T.
Wit, A.J. de
Creemers, R.J.C. de
Nijenhuis, A.K. te
Ubels, L.C.
Ramaswamy, K.
Tripathi, A.K.
Liddel, P.
Cullinan, J.
Lecce, L.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
MDPI
License Holder
© 2026 by the authors
Licence Type
CC BY 4.0
Sponsor
This research was funded from the EU Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 101101404. This paper does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission.
Abstract
Hydrogen-propelled aircraft can enable net-zero CO2 emissions in aviation, which is the goal of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for 2050. One drawback of onboard hydrogen storage in aircraft is the necessity for relatively large, pressurised storage volumes. To maximise H2 volumetric efficiency, the COmposite COnformal LIquid H2 Tank (COCOLIH2T) project attempts to design, build and test a vacuum-insulated liner-less cryogenic conformal thermoplastic composite tank with conditioning subsystems for safe operation. The tank must be compatible with the design envelope in the empennage, specifically towards the aft of the pressure bulkhead of an ATR 72-like aircraft. The tank design, analysis, optimisation and demonstrator manufacturing are presented in this paper.
Description
Keywords
Citation
Noordman, B., Wit, A. d., Creemers, R., Nijenhuis, A. t., Ubels, R., Ramaswamy, K., Tripathi, A. K., Liddel, P., Cullinan, J., & Lecce, L. (2026). Design, Analysis and Optimisation of a Vacuum-Insulated Composite Conformal LH2 Tank. Engineering Proceedings, 133(1), 165. https://doi.org/10.3390/engproc2026133165