The most practical way of storing hydrogen gas for fuel cell vehicles is to use a composite overwrapped pressure vessel. Depending on the driving distance range and power requirement of the vehicles, there can be various operational pressure and volume capacity of the tanks, ranging from passenger vehicles to heavy-duty trucks. The current commercial hydrogen storage method for vehicles involves storing compressed hydrogen gas in high-pressure tanks at pressures of 700 bar for passenger vehicles and 350 bar to 700 bar for heavy-duty trucks. In particular, hydrogen is stored in rapidly refillable onboard tanks, meeting the driving range needs of heavy-duty applications, such as regional and line-haul trucking. One of the most important factors for fuel cell vehicles to be successful is their cost-effectiveness. So, in this review, the cost analysis including the process analysis, raw materials, and manufacturing processes is reviewed. It aims to contribute to the optimization of both the cost and performance of compressed hydrogen storage tanks for various applications.

Conventional thermosetting composites exhibit advantageous mechanical properties owing to the use of an autoclave; however, their wide usage is limited by high production costs and long molding times. In contrast, the fabrication of thermoplastic composites involves out-of-autoclave processes that use press equipment. In particular, induction-heating molding facilitates a quicker thermal cycle, reduced processing time, and improved durability of the thermoplastic polymers; thus, the process cost and production time can be reduced. In this study, carbon fiber/polyphenylene sulfide thermoplastic composites were manufactured using induction-heating molding, and the relationships among the process, structure, and mechanical properties were investigated. The composites were characterized using optical and scanning electron microscopy, an ultrasonic C-scan, and X-ray computed tomography. In addition, the composites were subjected to flammability tests. This study provides novel insights into the optimization of thermoplastic composite manufacturing and thermoset composite curing processes.