Hydrogen gas is known for being simultaneously
- 🎈 the lightest gas,
- ⚡ the most energy dense (non-nuclear) fuel by weight, and
- 🌲 for burning with zero carbon emissions.
Given these last two qualities, it has long been a candidate for the fuel of the future. But being a light gas, proposals for hydrogen-powered vehicles face significant challenges in storing compressed hydrogen in a typical vehicle form-factor, i.e. within a standard car, plane, or boat.
However, what if we can take advantage of all of hydrogen's properties and embrace the light gas?
We propose that, indeed, we can, with an airship for which hydrogen provides both buoyancy and power.
An airship also takes advantage of the square-cube law: the fuel capacity and lifting capacity scales proportional to the volume of the ship, but the material cost scales proportional to the surface area of the ship. This is a tremendous advantage, as then we can continuously buy additional 15% capacity improvements for only 10% more material cost.
Hydrogen gas can be produced by electrolysis of water, allowing us to replenish hydrogen on-board using atmospheric water and aerially-available power such as solar or wind, without needing a ground-based resupply.
☁️ Thus, we present Nimbus Ships - a new class of autonomous, efficient, and zero-carbon-emissions airships capable of anywhere-to-anywhere transport and ultra long endurance missions.