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SUMMARY:2024 Robin Paul prize lecture: The Hydrogen Catalyst: Removing a Q
 uantum Barrier to Fuel Sustainable Aviation - Paula Mendoza-Moreno - Depar
 tment of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology\, University of Cambridge
DTSTART:20251126T133000Z
DTEND:20251126T143000Z
UID:TALK237088@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:120673
DESCRIPTION:The single greatest barrier to hydrogen (H₂) aviation is the
  immense challenge of storing and distributing liquid hydrogen (LH₂). Th
 is challenge is the primary obstacle to making flights that emit only wate
 r a practical reality. A significant part of this challenge stems from a f
 undamental property of H₂ itself: the interconversion of its isomers\, o
 rtho- and para-H₂\, under liquid storage conditions. This exothermic iso
 merisation reaction is a major\, direct contributor to the quick evaporati
 on of LH₂\, making fuel storage inherently inefficient. A solution is to
  promote the ortho-para conversion (OPC) with a catalyst in liquefaction. 
 This enables the supply of stable LH₂ fuel that meets the standards requ
 ired by H₂ aircraft designs.\n\nThis lecture will present findings from 
 a recent study demonstrating that the industry-standard pursuit of >99% pa
 ra-hydrogen purity is not only more expensive than we thought but also ene
 rgetically sub-optimal for the aviation fuel cycle. The findings reveal th
 at a strategically-tuned OPC process\, accepting purities of 83-95%\, redu
 ces liquefaction energy demands by 8-13% while reducing evaporation losses
  during storage for the critical 1-7 day transport window. This optimisati
 on\, when coupled with green H₂ production\, leads to a >92% reduction o
 f CO₂ emissions from fuel production to flight on routes such as London-
 New York. Furthermore\, this talk will outline the experimental continuati
 on of this work\, building on the kinetic understanding of the catalytic O
 PC. The new insights gained into this quantum phenomenon directly address 
 the evaporation of H₂ in storage tanks\, the economic viability of H₂ 
 aviation\, and the carbon footprint of the LH₂ supply.
LOCATION:Lecture Theatre 1\, Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotec
 hnology\, West Cambridge Site
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