MOran Innovation LLC
CREATING BREAKTHROUGH POWER AND PROPULSION SYSTEMS
Test your hydrogen knowledge! These questions and more are addressed in the November 2023 session of the LH2 Era™ Webinar series:
How are double-walled vacuum-jacketed dewar tanks currently used for LH2?
Where are single-walled tanks with foam insulation currently used for LH2?
What heat load margin is typical prior to a preliminary design review? Why?
What are some sources of heat load into an LH2 tank?
What is a thermal conductivity integral and how is it used in cryogenics?
Which insulation option is the highest performing in a hard vacuum?
What heat flux is achievable with a properly installed 2.5 cm thick MLI system on an LH2 tank with a hard vacuum-jacket and a warm boundary at 300 K?
What are some of the pros and cons of MLI, perlite, foam, glass bubbles, aerogel beads, and aerogel blankets for LH2 tank insulation?
Managing Member Bio
Matt Moran is the Managing Member at Moran Innovation LLC, and previous Managing Partner at Isotherm Energy. He's been developing power and propulsion systems for more than 40 years; and first-of-a-kind liquid, slush and gaseous hydrogen systems since the mid-1980s. Matt was also the Sector Manager for Energy & Materials in his last position at NASA where he worked for 31 years. He's been a cofounder in seven technology based start-ups; and provided R&D and engineering support to hundreds of organizations. Matt has three patents and more than 50 publications including the Cryogenic Fluid Management report series. He also leads the LH2 Era™ Liquid Hydrogen Webinar Series and writes about liquid hydrogen on his LH2era.com blog. More about Matt can be found on his LinkedIn page.
Areas of Expertise
HYDROGEN
Gas, liquid and slush systems
No-loss zero boil-off storage & fueling
Aircraft and vehicle integration
Energy and transportation
PROPULSION
Launch and in-space systems
Propellant storage and transfer
Cryogenic fluid management
Tankage and insulation
POWER
Thermal and fluid systems
Avionics cooling and harvesting
Integrated fuel cell systems
Power and refrigeration cycles
Training and Speaking
Climbing Mount ASABI™
Identify needs, goals, objectives & key metrics (market opportunities, technology integration, etc.)
Evaluate assumptions, constraints, challenges & risks (technical, resources, organizational, etc.)
Define key driving requirements & concept of operations (criteria for verification & validation)
Leverage sources of innovation (internal, customers, suppliers, partners, open, tech transfer, etc.)
Build system models for analysis, simulation & optimization (evolves with system development)
Perform design trades & assess technology options (systematic selection of best design solution)
Develop prototypes for performance, stakeholder & customer testing (product-market fit)
Finalize intellectual property & strategic partners (competitive advantage)
Accelerate system deployment & product launch (faster to market & quicker ROI)
Execute growth strategy (new business development & increasing revenues)
Voice of the Customer
"Matt prepared a custom-made course on liquid hydrogen systems considering the scope of our aeronautical research activities. The course content was clear, well-structured, and thorough enough to provide new knowledge that supports our R&D needs."
- Pedro Garcia Gonzalez
Lead Propulsion R&D Engineer, Pipistrel Vertical Solutions
"Matt and I worked closely on an effort to perform system architecture and technical analysis on vehicle level, propulsion subsystem and fluid component trade studies. Matt’s strong systems engineering background coupled with his technical expertise provided quality, timely products that met all expectations."
- Jim Free
Former NASA Center Director; and Deputy Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Mission Operations
"Matt is a pleasure to work with! He and I exchanged information on cryogenic systems and novel ideas for reaching zero boil-off liquid hydrogen systems. He is very knowledgeable about the subject and generous with his time. He provided in-depth advice and supported a short turn-around deadline. His projects speak for themselves regarding scale and scope by highlighting his unique ability to overcome difficult engineering challenges. I look forward to working with him again as opportunities arise."
- Monterey R. Gardiner
Former Mansfield Fellow & US Department of Energy Technology Development Manager (Fuel Cell Technologies Office) for Hydrogen Delivery & Vehicle Storage, & DOE lead for the Hydrogen Storage Engineering Center of Excellence.
“I have worked with Matt for over 26 years, primarily on the development and testing of cryogenic propellant aerospace and ground support systems under NASA, the Department of Defense, and our own internal technology development programs, and I have always found his technical and engineering skills invaluable to us. His engineering and overall system acumen allows him to quickly understand a vast array of technical problems leading to sound well thought solutions.”
- George A. Satornino
Chief Executive Officer, Sierra Lobo, Inc.
Customers and Partners
HX5iLevelJacobs ESTS GroupJohns Hopkins Applied Physics LabHybricon CorpITT Technical InstituteKirtland Air Force BaseLead Off The X
News and Updates
Flying Hy: Matt Moran taught a short introduction to hydrogen systems and chaired a presentation session on lessons learned from space at this hydrogen aviation event. (posted Oct 13, 2023)
NASA Artemis Human Landing Systems: Moran Innovation has been awarded a six-month renewal of it's subcontract supporting the SpaceX lunar starship development collaboration activity; and a new six-month subcontract to support the Blue Origin team lunar landing system. (posted Sep 29, 2023)
Energy & Mobility Conference: Matt Moran chaired a panel session on hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), co-taught a full day workshop on liquid hydrogen systems, and won the conference best paper award. Slides from the workshop and panel session can be accessed here. (posted Sep 16, 2023)
Liquid Hydrogen for Aviation Course: Matt Moran prepared and taught a custom 8-hour course on LH2 systems development for a European aircraft manufacturing company. Topics addressed included: Introduction, Safety, Fundamentals, Tankage, Thermal, Storage, Transfer, Modeling, and Applications (posted Aug 24, 2023)
LH2 Era™ Library Launch: Videos and slides from the monthly liquid hydrogen webinar series started in April are now available in an online library hosted on the Vimeo platform. Videos from the half-day NASA workshop short course on cryogenic fluid management have also been added as a bonus under the subscription option. (posted Jun 21, 2023)
NASA Contracts Renewed and Extended: Two subcontracts to Moran Innovation in support of NASA have been renewed and a third subcontract has been extended. The contracts support the Artemis Human Landing System (crewed lunar vehicle); cryogenic fluid management modeling and validation; and densified propellants test facility development. (posted Mar 11, 2023)
Hydrogen Microgrid and Aviation Fueling: The kickoff meeting for this two-year $10MM contract with the Army was held with the NCDMM program manager, NEOEx Systems prime, and fellow subcontract partners from Avari Aerospace, AFIT, WPI, OSU, MAGNET, JETS, and MRK Aviation. Moran Innovation will provide expert cryogenic systems consultation throughout the project duration. (posted Mar 10, 2023)
Update to Cryogenic Fluid Management Report: A new version with additional content has been re-published as a paperback on Amazon and is also available online for free. Feedback from readers is requested for the next version to add topics of interest and make it more accessible for non-space applications. (posted Mar 5, 2023)
LH2 Era™ Webinar Series: Moran Innovation is sponsoring a new global liquid hydrogen monthly webinar series beginning in April that will address key topics related to the design, development, and operation of integrated liquid hydrogen systems. Details and registration are available here. A weekly summary of global liquid hydrogen news is also starting in March on the LH2era.com blog. (posted Feb 23, 2023)
Liquid Hydrogen Training: Moran Innovation is developing customized training for organizations that are coming up the learning curve on liquid hydrogen. Aviation, energy, and transportation are the initial target sectors. Video clips from a training session at a NASA workshop can be viewed for free here. (posted Feb 6, 2023)
LH2 Era™ Blog Index
Integration and Implementation
Systems and Modeling
Liquid Hydrogen (LH2) Workshop Slides (Sep 18, 2023)
Calculations for Introduction to Cryogenic Fluid Management (Jan 16, 2023).
Hydrogen System Architecture and Software Demo (Aug 30, 2016)
System Modeling Software for Isotherm's Hydrogen Energy Storage Architecture (Apr 22, 2016).
A Hydrogen System Architecture for Energy Storage and Water Production (Feb 18, 2016)
Training and Speaking
Liquid Hydrogen (LH2) Workshop Slides (Sep 18, 2023)
LH2 Era™ Library, Workshops, and Courses (Jun 27, 2023)
Upcoming LH2 Workshops, Courses, Interviews, and Webinars (May 21, 2023)
UPDATE: Feedback Request on Cryogenic Fluid Management Report (Mar 3, 2023)
6.0 Other Topics in Cryogenic Fluid Management (Feb 15, 2023)
2.0 Environments for Cryogenic Fluid Management (Jan 21, 2023)
1.0 Introduction to Cryogenic Fluid Management (CFM) (Jan 1, 2023)
Cryogenic Fluid Management of Liquid Hydrogen... (Mar 15, 2022)
Liquid Hydrogen Presentation (Center for Hydrogen Safety U.S. Conference 2020) (Sep 10, 2020).
Hydrogen Endgame: The Infinity Fuel for a Sustainable Future (Jun 6, 2019)
Wright-Patterson AFB Hosts Thermal System Modeling Course (Sep 17, 2017)
NASA Johnson Space Center Hosts Engineering Course (Aug 28, 2016)
Webinar Related
LH2 Era™ Library, Workshops, and Courses (Jun 27, 2023)
Pre-Test Results for June 2023 LH2 Era™ Webinar Session 3: Zero Boil-Off Case Study May 30, 2023)
Pre-Test Results for May 2023 LH2 Era™ Webinar Session 2: Hydrogen Evolution (May 2, 2023).
Hydrogen Evolution: LH2 Era™ Webinar Series May 2023 Session (Apr 23, 2023)
Pre-Test Results for April 2023 LH2 Era™ Webinar Session 1: Introduction to Hydrogen (Mar 19, 2023).
Online Resources for the LH2 Era™ Webinar Series (Mar 11, 2023).
Webinar Session 1: Introduction to Liquid Hydrogen (Mar 2, 2023)