Towards a new shift in the aviation industry
OVERLEAF designed a game-changing Liquid Hydrogen (LH2) storage tank to enable the transition towards H2 -powered aviation, contributing to the goals of the EU Green Deal by 2050 for the aviation sector.
Funded by
the European Union
An overview of the OVERLEAF tank
The OVERLEAF tank is a cutting-edge, multi-layered system designed for safe and efficient liquid hydrogen storage. Its three key components, the polymer Inner Tank, carbon fibre Outer Tank, and advanced Insulation layers, work together to maintain structural integrity, minimise thermal losses, and ensure safety. All of this is completed with a series of systems for both operating the tank and guaranteeing safety at all stages, such as sensors for temperature, pressure and hydrogen leakage.
Storage capacity
105KG H2
Filling conditions
≤ 1 BAR AND ≤ 20.3K
Maximum operating pressure
6 BAR ABSOLUTE
Boil-off rate (dormancy time)
2% AT 13.5H
Fuel-to-total weight ratio
0.23
Impacts
SUSTAINABILITY
The core concept of this project, is to prove that a clean fuel such as the liquid hydrogen can realistically be integrated into commercial aviation in the near future, providing an alternative to polluting fossil fuels employed today.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION
Much of the project involves developing new materials that suit specific needs relevant not only for OVERLEAF but also for the future development of a multitude fields, mainly hydrogen-fuel technologies.
UPSCALING
The concept developed in this project is but a demonstrator. With a goal capacity
of 105kg of fuel, a fuel/total mass ratio of more than 23% was achieved, within the
same order of magnitude of the current tanks for aviation. This ratio should increase strongly when increasing the fuel weight, so upscaled proposals should prove highly efficient compared to modern tanks.
