2025 Highlights and 2026 Priorities

At the start of 2025 I put together a simple priorities mind map for the coming year. Looking back, reasonably good progress was made in most of these areas, although lots of room for improvement and continued focus.

Below are highlights that are hopefully of some interest to others involved with hydrogen systems. Related briefing slides, resources, and tools can be found on the H2 Sage™ site. Other resource links can be found in the News & Updates section and the Training page on the Moran Innovation website.

Hydrogen Systems Development

• SAE Hydrogen Airport Taskgroup: Supported codes development from late 2023 to early 2025. (March 22, 2025)
• NASA Artemis Human Landing Systems: Completed subcontract providing cryogenic fluid management subject matter expertise to the NASA and Blue Origin teams developing the Blue Moon LH2/LOx lunar lander. (Mar 31, 2025)
• Hydrogen Microgrid with LH2 Offtake: Continued development, safety, and mission assurance support in the final phase of this AFRL-funded project. (Apr 26, 2025)
• H2 Sage™ Tools and Resources: Launched a new portal for accessing hydrogen tools and resources with an initial focus on liquid hydrogen. (Oct 6, 2025)
• Maritime Vessel project: Started providing advisory support for a potential hydrogen ferry retrofit.  (Nov 18, 2025)
• Aircraft Hydrogen-Electric Propulsion: Started hydrogen systems consulting support to an aircraft development company in the Asia-Pacific region (Dec 1, 2025)
• ASTM Cryogenic Piping Standard Development Group: Continued second year of support as a member of this group. (Dec 31, 2025)

Knowledge Transfer

• EU HASTA Project: Gave an invited presentation on liquid hydrogen sloshing to the European Union Hydrogen Aircraft Sloshing Tank Advancement (HASTA) Project. (Jan 23, 2025)
• Mission Hydrogen: Presented on liquid hydrogen fluid management and had a lively Q&A for more than 90 minutes on this very popular global webinar series (1341 live participants). (Feb 26, 2025)
• Engineering in Construction & Manufacturing Conference: "Hydrogen-Based Energy Systems" panel and presentation on "Hydrogen Microgrids for Resiliency and Fuel Offtake". (Feb 27, 2025)
• Ohio Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Consortium: "Hydrogen 101" virtual  presentation for OFCHC members and other registrants. (Mar 25, 2025)
• H2 View webinar: "Large Scale Projects: The Road to Full-Scale Hydrogen Deployment" guest speaker. (Apr 25, 2025)
• Leybold hosted webinar: presented on "Liquid Hydrogen Systems and the Role of Vacuum Jackets" and answered Q&A questions. (May 7, 2025)
• US Interagency Advanced Power Group (IAPG): Invited presentation on "Hydrogen for Energy Storage" at the Mechanical Working Group meeting, Power Conversion Panel. (May 15, 2025)
• DOE Hydrogen Workforce Training & Upskilling project: Invited speaker at this workshop hosted by the University of Toledo and follow up session at the Ohio Aerospace Institute. Also invited advisory board member for the project. (Jun 26, 2025 and Nov 18, 2025)
• "Hydrogen Aviation" presentation and Q&A, Mission Hydrogen: Discussion of recent and ongoing hydrogen aircraft and airport infrastructure efforts (Dec 3, 2025)

Looking Ahead

Propaganda and self-serving government policy changes enacted last year in the US are driving the world in the wrong direction and destroying our modest gains in reducing harmful emissions. We need the private, nonprofit, and global public sectors to continue leading the way forward.

In 2026, Moran Innovation will prioritize support to worldwide projects and organizations that are directly addressing the transition away from fossil fuels with a focus on near-term hydrogen systems deployment.

Another priority will be the continued creation of hydrogen resources and tools needed to develop and deploy these systems. Providing the widest possible access to these resources and tools is a primary goal. 

Finally, opportunities to exchange relevant knowledge in various contexts, venues, and training formats will continue to be key activities. We must share hydrogen knowledge, tools, and resources with the next generation to help them create a better future.

Author 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 gas, slush, and liquid hydrogen systems since the mid-1980s. Matt was also the Sector Manager for Energy & Materials in his final position at NASA where he worked for 31 years. He's been a cofounder in seven technology-based startups; and provided R&D, engineering, and innovation consulting to several hundred organizations. Matt has three patents and more than 50 publications including his online Cryogenic Fluid Management guide and Decarbonizing Mobility with Liquid Hydrogen SAE report. He has created and taught liquid hydrogen courses, webinars, and workshops to global audiences.

Liquid Hydrogen (LH2) Gifts from Santa in 2024

Image credit: Matt Moran, Moran Innovation LLC

It was a busy 2024 for my company, Moran Innovation, with implementation of all the capabilities shown above on Santa's list into new LH2 systems for NASA, DOD, and private sector customers. Also, lots of activities related to training, publications, and standards development. Here's a few highlights with hyperlinks to information that may be of interest to the hydrogen community:

 

• Decarbonizing mobility with liquid hydrogen. Published an SAE Edge™ report on this topic with contributors from multiple industry sectors and global regions. Discussed it at the WCX SAE Knowledge Bar and a SAE The Mobility Frontier webinar.
• Hydrogen-based microgrid. Completed the first phase of adding hydrogen capability to the PEARL microgrid in Honolulu. The expanded multifunctional operations will include production of hydrogen from solar-powered electrolysis, compressed storage, power generation from fuel cells, and in-tank liquefaction for unlimited LH2 storage time (dormancy) and offtake fueling.
• LH2 drones. Continued support of NEOEx Systems liquid hydrogen drone development with automated fueling and on-demand full lifecycle production and liquefaction. Their systems eliminate the need for LH2 distribution, transport, delivery, and ground support storage.
• Airport hydrogen fueling standards. Continued participation in the SAE AE-5CH Hydrogen Airport Taskgroup which published the first global guidelines for airport hydrogen refueling stations.
• Vacuum-jacket piping guideline. Began development of guidelines for vacuum insulated piping for cryogenic applications with a small group of fellow experts.
• NASA lunar landers. Completed the fourth year of providing cryogenic fluid management subject matter expertise to the NASA Human Landing System program and other contracts related to LH2 and other cryogens including zero boil-off systems.
• Courses, webinars, and workshops. Completed the first ever webinar series solely dedicated to LH2 resulting in 13 monthly webinar sessions during 2023-2024. Just released an online, on-demand LH2 systems course that will preview a new lecture every month in 2025 for free. Taught the hydrogen fundamentals portion of the AIAA/HYSKY Advanced Hydrogen Aerospace Technologies and Design course, and did other training and workshops at various conferences and venues. Details can be found on my website Training page.
• Global LH2 topics. Continued managing the Global LH2 Systems LinkedIn group that I started last year for sharing news and other topics relevant to the worldwide LH2 community.

The global momentum with LH2 systems development across many industry sectors and regions is very encouraging. Significant capital investments are accelerating the transition to hydrogen to meet our energy needs while eliminating the sources of damage to our environment and public health caused by burning fossil fuels. This transition also provides energy security, resiliency, and sustainability; all of which translates into a higher quality of life worldwide. And public policy has been moving in the right direction in most countries, albeit at a less than optimal pace.

Looking forward, there is some uncertainty regarding governmental support in some regions. Geopolitical shifts may stall some countries' progress on hydrogen allowing other countries to advance into global leadership positions (perhaps permanently). How do we keep the momentum going with hydrogen? I believe the answer lies in a quote I recently posted from the late Peter Drucker: "The best way to predict the future is to create it". So let's keep creating a better future together with hydrogen in 2025!

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  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 break-through 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 co-founder in seven technology startups; and provided R&D and engineering support to many organizations. Matt has three patents and more than 50 publications including the Cryogenic Fluid Management series. He also teaches courses, workshops, and webinars on liquid hydrogen systems.