<p>The present study focus on a deterministic investigation of the structural integrity and failure mechanisms of Type III (metal-lined) and Type IV (polymer-lined) hydrogen storage vessels using Finite Element Analysis (FEA). The vessels, which are subjected to quasi-static internal pressure, incorporate elastoplastic behavior for the sealed liner section and anisotropic composite damage models for progressive failure simulation. The FEM, validated against experimental data, first evaluates the stress distributions (hoop/axial) through the axial spacing and failure modes for liner-glass/epoxy. Subsequently, the burst pressure was investigated for both pure synthetic and hybrid composites with the stacking sequence Liner/[[± α°]/[90°]₂]₃, where the winding angle (α°) is varied in 10° increments. The results reveal critical stress zones and the effect of winding angle optimization on burst pressure, and highlight the superior burst resistance of Type III compared to Type IV due to the metal liner part. The burst pressures obtained define the use of hybrid composite materials for high<b>-</b>pressure applications (350–700 bar) and medium-pressure applications (100–350 bar) with a safety factor of 2.5. These findings provide essential insights for design optimization and form the basis for the probabilistic analysis of forthcoming paper, in order to improve the safety and performance of hydrogen storage systems.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>