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Caribbeans

(1,053 posts)
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 03:06 PM Monday

China's first ton-level liquid hydrogen unmanned eVTOL aircraft completes test flight



China's first ton-level liquid hydrogen unmanned eVTOL aircraft completes test flight

Global Times | Jan 13, 2025

China's first ton-level liquid hydrogen powered electric unmanned vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft completed its test flight in Baoji city, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province. This achievement opens new avenues for the commercialization of liquid hydrogen and the development of the low-altitude economy, said Shaanxi Fabu, the official social media account of Shaanxi Province on Monday.

The eVTOL was developed through a collaboration among several companies, including Shaanxi Tongchen Heguang Cryogenic Technology Co Ltd, Dreamfly Technology Co Ltd and Qing Power Technology Co Ltd.

After a single refueling with liquid hydrogen, it can fly continuously for about 4 to 5 hours, covering a range of 800 to 1,000 kilometers at an average speed of 240 kilometers per hour, the Global Times learned from Shaanxi Tongchen Heguang Cryogenic Technology Co, which provided the liquid hydrogen for this test flight.

Li Yongxin, chief engineer of Shaanxi Tongchen Heguang Cryogenic Technology Co, told the Global Times on Monday that liquid hydrogen offers significant advantages over traditional fuels and lithium batteries...more
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202501/1326808.shtml

Related:
China Develops First 100 Kg Vehicle-Mounted Liquid Hydrogen System


See the Future of Drones - 5 Hours of Nonstop Flight With Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology
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China's first ton-level liquid hydrogen unmanned eVTOL aircraft completes test flight (Original Post) Caribbeans Monday OP
We already had a huge hydrogen flying machine, two actually. NNadir Monday #1
List of nuclear power accidents by country Caribbeans Monday #2
And the death toll from this list is what? In China, hydrogen is overwhelmingly made from coal. NNadir Monday #3

NNadir

(34,944 posts)
1. We already had a huge hydrogen flying machine, two actually.
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 03:41 PM
Monday

There was the Hindenberg and the space shuttle Challenger.

They both blew up.

In both cases the horrible physical properties of hydrogen were the root cause.

This isn't a "first" anything. It's rather an instance of not respecting history.

Caribbeans

(1,053 posts)
2. List of nuclear power accidents by country
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 04:12 PM
Monday
Nuclear power accidents in USA

Date Location Description Fatalities Cost
(in millions
2006 US$) INES
November 29, 1955 Idaho Falls, Idaho, USA Power excursion with partial core meltdown at National Reactor Testing Station's EBR-1 Experimental Breeder Reactor I 0 5
July 26, 1959 Simi Valley, California, USA Partial core meltdown at Santa Susana Field Laboratory’s Sodium Reactor Experiment 0 32
January 3, 1961 Idaho Falls, Idaho, USA Explosion at National Reactor Testing Station's SL-1 Stationary Low-Power Reactor Number One 3 22 4
October 5, 1966 Monroe, Michigan, USA Sodium cooling system malfunctions at Enrico Fermi demonstration breeder reactor causing some fuel elements to melt 0 19 4
August 11, 1973 Palisades, Michigan, USA Steam generator leak causes manual shutdown of pressurized water reactor 0 10
March 22, 1975 Browns Ferry, Alabama, USA Fire burns for seven hours and damages more than 1600 control cables for one of the three nuclear reactors at Browns Ferry, disabling core cooling systems 0 240 3
November 5, 1975 Brownsville, Nebraska, USA Hydrogen gas explosion damages the Cooper Nuclear Station’s auxiliary building 0 13
June 10, 1977 Waterford, Connecticut, USA Hydrogen gas explosion damages three buildings and forces shutdown of Millstone-1 Boiling Water Reactor 0 15
February 4, 1979 Surry, Virginia, USA Surry Unit 2 shut down in response to failing tube bundles in steam generators 0 12
March 28, 1979 Middletown, Pennsylvania, USA Loss of coolant and partial core meltdown, see Three Mile Island accident and Three Mile Island accident health effects 0 2,400 5
October 17, 1981 Buchanan, New York, USA 100,000 gallons of Hudson River water leaked into the Indian Point Energy Center Unit 2 containment building from the fan cooling unit, undetected by a safety device designed to detect hot water. The flooding, covering the first 9 feet of the reactor vessel, was discovered when technicians entered the building. Two pumps which should have removed the water were found to be inoperative. NRC proposed a $210,000 fine for the incident.[73] 0
January 25, 1982 Rochester, New York, USA Steam generator-leak at the Ginna Nuclear Generating Station causes extensive injection of the high pressure emergency core cooling system 0 ?
March 20, 1982 Lycoming, New York, USA Recirculation system piping fails at Nine Mile Point Unit 1, forcing two year shutdown 0 45
March 25, 1982 Buchanan, New York, USA Damage to steam generator tubes and main generator resulting in a shut down Indian Point Energy Center Unit 3 for more than a year 0 56
June 18, 1982 Senaca, South Carolina, USA Feedwater heat extraction line fails at Oconee 2 Pressurised Water Reactor, damaging thermal cooling system 0 10
February 12, 1983 Forked River, New Jersey, USA Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Plant fails safety inspection, forced to shut down for repairs 0 32
February 26, 1983 Fort Pierce, Florida, USA Damaged thermal shield and core barrel support at St Lucie Unit 1, necessitating 13-month shutdown 0 54
September 15, 1984 Athens, Alabama, USA Safety violations, operator error, and design problems force six year outage at Browns Ferry Unit 2 0 110
March 9, 1985 Athens, Alabama, USA Instrumentation systems malfunction during start-up, which led to suspension of operations at all three Browns Ferry Units 0 1,830
April 11, 1986 Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA Recurring equipment problems force emergency shutdown of Boston Edison's Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant 0 1,001
March 31, 1987 Delta, Pennsylvania, USA Peach Bottom units 2 and 3 shutdown due to cooling malfunctions and unexplained equipment problems 0 400
December 19, 1987 Lycoming, New York, USA Malfunctions force Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation to shut down Nine Mile Point Unit 1 0 150
September 10, 1988 Surry, Virginia, USA Refuelling cavity seal fails and destroys internal pipe system at Surry Unit 2, forcing 12-month outage 0 9
March 5, 1989 Tonopah, Arizona, USA Atmospheric dump valves fail at Palo Verde Unit 1, leading to main transformer fire and emergency shutdown 0 14
March 17, 1989 Lusby, Maryland, USA Inspections at Calvert Cliff Units 1 and 2 reveal cracks at pressurized heater sleeves, forcing extended shutdowns 0 120
November 17, 1991 Scriba, New York, USA Safety and fire problems force shut down of the FitzPatrick nuclear reactor for 13 months 0 5
April 21, 1992 Southport, North Carolina, USA NRC forces shut down of Brunswick Units 1 and 2 after emergency diesel generators fail 0 2
February 3, 1993 Bay City, Texas, USA Auxiliary feed-water pumps fail at South Texas Project Units 1 and 2, prompting rapid shutdown of both reactors 0 3
February 27, 1993 Buchanan, New York, USA New York Power Authority shuts down Indian Point Energy Center Unit 3 after AMSAC system fails 0 2
March 2, 1993 Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee, USA Equipment failures and broken pipes cause shut down of Sequoyah Unit 1 0 3
December 25, 1993 Newport, Michigan, USA Shut down of Fermi Unit 2 after main turbine experienced major failure due to improper maintenance 0 67
14 January 1995 Wiscasset, Maine, USA Steam generator tubes unexpectedly crack at Maine Yankee nuclear reactor; shut down of the facility for a year 0 62
May 16, 1995 Salem, New Jersey, USA Ventilation systems fail at Salem Units 1 and 2 0 34
February 20, 1996 Connecticut, USA Leaking valve forces shutdown Millstone Nuclear Power Plant Units 1 and 2, multiple equipment failures found 0 254
September 2, 1996 Crystal River, Florida, USA Balance-of-plant equipment malfunction forces shutdown and extensive repairs at Crystal River Unit 3 0 384
September 5, 1996 Clinton, Illinois, USA Reactor recirculation pump fails, prompting shut down of Clinton boiling water reactor 0 38
September 20, 1996 Senaca, Illinois, USA Service water system fails and results in closure of LaSalle Units 1 and 2 for more than 2 years 0 71
September 9, 1997 Bridgman, Michigan, USA Ice condenser containment systems fail at Cook Units 1 and 2 0 11
May 25, 1999 Waterford, Connecticut, USA Steam leak in feed-water heater causes manual shutdown and damage to control board annunciator at the Millstone Nuclear Power Plant 0 7
September 29, 1999 Lower Alloways Creek, New Jersey, USA Major Freon leak at Hope Creek Nuclear Facility causes ventilation train chiller to trip, releasing toxic gas and damaging the cooling system 0 2
February 16, 2002 Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA Severe corrosion of control rod drives in the reactor head forces 24-month outage of Davis-Besse reactor 0 143
January 15, 2003 Bridgman, Michigan, USA A fault in the main transformer at the Donald C. Cook nuclear power plant causes a fire that damages the main generator and back-up turbines 0 10
June 16, 2005 Braidwood, Illinois, USA Exelon's Braidwood Nuclear Generating Station leaks tritium and contaminates local water supplies 0 41
August 4, 2005 Buchanan, New York, USA Entergy's Indian Point Energy Center Nuclear Plant leaks tritium and strontium into underground lakes from 1974 to 2005 30
March 6, 2006 Erwin, Tennessee, USA Nuclear fuel services plant spills 35 litres of highly enriched uranium, necessitating 7-month shutdown 0 98
November 21, 2009 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA Twelve workers were contaminated after radioactive dust was mobilized at the Three Mile Island plant during pipe maintenance works.[74] 0
January 7, 2010 Buchanan, New York, USA NRC inspectors reported that an estimated 600,000 gallons of mildly radioactive steam was intentionally vented after an automatic shutdown of Indian Point Energy Center Unit 2. The levels of tritium in the steam were below those allowable by NRC safety standards.[75] 0 0
February 1, 2010 Vernon, Vermont, USA Deteriorating underground pipes from the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant leak radioactive tritium into groundwater supplies 0 700
March 13, 2013 Russellville, Arkansas, USA Temporary overhead crane collapsed at Arkansas Nuclear One's Unit 1[76] 1 ?
1986 Surry, Virginia, USA Broken Feedwater pipe at Surry Nuclear Power Plant kills 4 4 ?
August 2011 Louisa county, Virginia, USA A 5.8-earthquake in the region caused the loss of offsite power at the North Anna Nuclear Generating Station. Later in the incident, the plant lost an emergency diesel generator, leading to the activation of the so-called SBO diesel generator - an emergency situation. 0 ? 2
January 2014 St. Lucie, Florida, USA Flooding of the auxiliary building of the St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant, caused by lacking proper flood barriers[77] 0 ?
July 2016 Michigan, USA Massive steam leak in the turbine building of Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant, unit 2 0 ?
December 2019 Nebraska, USA One of the two safety related component cooling systems of Cooper Nuclear Station was unable to operate, because its service water system, that takes water from the river, was plugged with silt.[78] 0 ?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nuclear_power_accidents_by_country

USSR

NNadir

(34,944 posts)
3. And the death toll from this list is what? In China, hydrogen is overwhelmingly made from coal.
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 05:09 PM
Monday

Is it any thing like the death toll from this list of nuclear "accidents" approximate in any way the death toll from the normal operations of the fossil fuel industry employing dishonest tactics in trying to rebrand itself as hydrogen?

How China makes hydrogen is well known:

Subsidizing Grid-Based Electrolytic Hydrogen Will Increase Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Coal Dominated Power Systems Liqun Peng, Yang Guo, Shangwei Liu, Gang He, and Denise L. Mauzerall Environmental Science & Technology 2024 58 (12), 5187-5195

The text is clear enough.

From the introductory text:

... Currently, nearly all hydrogen in China is either produced directly from fossil fuels (55% from coal gasification and 14% from steam methane reforming (SMR)) or as a byproduct of petroleum refining (28%), with only 1% coming from water electrolysis. (2) Producing 1 kg of coal- or SMR-based hydrogen emits roughly 19 and 10 kg of CO2, respectively. (3) In 2020, hydrogen production from fossil fuels in China emitted ∼322Tg of CO2, equivalent to 25% of total CO2 emissions from industrial processes, a number expected to rise with increasing hydrogen demand. (4) Industrial processes include production of nonmetallic mineral products, chemical, and metal products, as well as production and consumption of halocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride. (4)
.

The bold, italics and underlining is mine.

EST: Chinese Hydrogen Production Is Making Climate Change Worse.


It is also well known how many people are killed in China each year from air pollution from the combustion of coal, including that used to make hydrogen:

Nature: China's annual air pollution deaths now stand at 1.4 million per year.

The original paper from which this post derives is here:
The contribution of outdoor air pollution sources to premature mortality on a global scale (Nature 525, 367–371 (17 September 2015)

I am perfectly willing to see a list of the death toll from the 70 year history of nuclear energy. In fact, I often invite antinukes - including those pushing the rebranding fossil fuels as "hydrogen" to show that the death toll from nuclear operations have killed as many people as fossil fuels kill every damned day.

By the way, making a rather dubious claim that "nuclear power" is dangerous (which always avoids a failure to compare it to everything else - including extreme global heating about which antinukes couldn't care less, especially fossil fuel rebranding types) does nothing at all to prove that hydrogen is "safe."

There are over 450 full scale nuclear plants that have operated on this planet, for decades, and despite all the bullshit, very few hydrogen powered aircraft or space craft by comparison.
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