Modern direct fuel injection systems today can compress fuel at almost 30,000psi (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_rail), so 10,000psi is nothing. Hydrogen is much safer than batteries, this is a fact.
Any significant amount of Hydrogen gas is crazy dangerous to work with because it has such a wide explosive range.
Reading through the Saturn V manual (as you do), the design aspect that surprised me the most was just how much of the hardware was dedicated to hydrogen gas leak detection! It was everywhere. Even the skin of the thing was a two layer affair in places, deliberately designed with channels and helium pressurisation in a complicated way to flush even the tiniest leak through long channels to the nearest sensor.
It sounds crazy until you realise that even a pinhole leak would release gas that rises up and concentrates in spaces between bulkheads and tanks where it can rapidly reach an explosive mixture ratio.
So explain the never ending cases of batteries catching fire. This is actually a big scandal, shows that the NHTSA has an agenda and no credibility at all.
Energy-dense storage is always inherently energetic, that's the definition of what energy storage is!
Flywheels explode.
Dams burst.
Fuels burst into flame.
Batteries catch fire.
Hydrogen explodes.
The difference is the relative rate. Batteries are very safe! You probably have one in your pocket on a daily basis and you don't stress about it.
Hydrogen needs special handling by professionals using constantly monitored specialised containment vessels or it explodes.
Those "well publicised scandals" you reference? Something like 90% of them are being promulgated by traders with a short position in TSLA. As you can imagine, they're not exactly unbiased.
To quote an actual analysis, not frothing-at-the-mouth ranting from day-traders losing their shirt because Tesla is doing well:
"Regarding the risk of electrochemical failure, [this] report concludes that the propensity and severity of fires and explosions from the accidental ignition of flammable electrolytic solvents used in Li-ion battery systems are anticipated to be somewhat comparable to or perhaps slightly less than those for gasoline or diesel vehicular fuels. The overall consequences for Li-ion batteries are expected to be less because of the much smaller amounts of flammable solvent released and burning in a catastrophic failure situation."
Any significant amount of Hydrogen gas is crazy dangerous to work with because it has such a wide explosive range.
Reading through the Saturn V manual (as you do), the design aspect that surprised me the most was just how much of the hardware was dedicated to hydrogen gas leak detection! It was everywhere. Even the skin of the thing was a two layer affair in places, deliberately designed with channels and helium pressurisation in a complicated way to flush even the tiniest leak through long channels to the nearest sensor.
It sounds crazy until you realise that even a pinhole leak would release gas that rises up and concentrates in spaces between bulkheads and tanks where it can rapidly reach an explosive mixture ratio.
Hydrogen is not safe at all.