"High-altitude winds between 1,640 and 3,281 feet (500 and 10,000 meters) above the ground are stronger and steadier than surface winds. These winds are abundant, widely available, and carbon-free.
"The physics of wind power makes this resource extremely valuable. “When wind speed doubles, the energy it carries increases eightfold, triple the speed, and you have 27 times the energy,” explained Gong Zeqi "
Is it? Hydrogen is about half the mass of helium, but the trick is what you’re displacing to generate lift.
1 cubic meter of air is around 1.2 kilograms, depending on a variety of factors.
1 cubic meter of helium is around 0.18 kilograms, displacing the atmosphere to generate about 1.02 kilograms of lift.
1 cubic meter of hydrogen is around 0.08 kilograms, displacing the atmosphere to generate about 1.12 kilograms of lift, a shade under a 10% increase over helium.
That can be significant, depending on other engineering constraints; but is it “crazy” different?
(Numbers will vary with temperature and pressure, back of envelope calculations, etc. etc.)
0.18 to 0.08 is a gigantic difference, less than half the weight per cubic meter of displacement !!
Not only is cost an issue, but the larger the volume of displaced air, the bigger the dirigible, the harder it becomes to move through the atmosphere, more friction, more air resistance etc…
H2 being 10% more lift while 500% cheaper still makes it the choice. A H2 economy is the path to 100% renewable energy, with a transportable fuel that in a fuel cell is also much more efficient than combustion engines/turbines. Lifting gas, chemicals, agriculture, rocket fuel, all of the existing uses for H2 is just icing on the cake.