Ammonia Airship Cooling: An Option for Renewable Cooling in the Tropics

Julian David Hunt (), Behnam Zakeri, Andreas Nascimento, Fei Guo, Marcos Aurélio Vasconcelos de Freitas, Cristiano Vitorino Silva and Bas van Ruijven
Additional contact information
Julian David Hunt: Climate and Livability Initiative, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
Behnam Zakeri: International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria
Andreas Nascimento: Energy Group, Mechanical Engineering Institute, Federal University of Itajuba, Itajubá 37500-903, Brazil
Fei Guo: International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria
Marcos Aurélio Vasconcelos de Freitas: Energy Planning Program, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-901, Brazil
Cristiano Vitorino Silva: Department of Engineering and Computer Science, Regional Integrated University of Upper Uruguay and Missions, Erechim 99700-000, Brazil

Energies, 2023, vol. 17, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: The world is warming, and the demand for cooling is increasing. Developing a future green hydrogen economy will also increase the demand for cooling for hydrogen liquefaction. This increase in cooling demand will happen mainly in tropical and developing countries due to their increase in population, improvements in quality of life, and the export of their renewable potential with liquid hydrogen. To solve this increase in demand for cooling, this paper proposes the use of ammonia airship cooling (AAC). AAC extracts cold from the tropopause (−80 °C) with airships and ammonia refrigeration cycles. The liquid ammonia is then transported back to the surface to provide low temperature cooling services (−33 °C). This cooling service is particularly interesting for lowering the electricity consumption in hydrogen liquefaction plants. If all the technological challenges mentioned in the paper are addressed, it is estimated that the cost of cooling with the technology is 8.25 USD/MWht and that AAC could reduce the electricity demand for hydrogen liquefaction by 30%. AAC is an innovative renewable cooling technology that has the potential to complement other renewable energy sources in a sustainable future.

Keywords: renewable cooling; air-conditioning; hydrogen liquefaction; balloons; airships (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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