Hydrogen Storage
[Due to the increasing size of the archives, each topic page now contains only the prior 365 days of content. Access to older stories is now solely through the Monthly Archive pages or the site search function.]
Researchers Identify 3D COFs as Promising Candidates for Practical Hydrogen Storage Materials
August 21, 2008
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| Hydrogen adsorption isotherms for COFs in wt % at 77 K. Excess H2 is on the left and total H2 is on the right. The open symbols on the left represent experimental results. Click to enlarge. Credit: ACS |
Researchers at UCLA and Caltech simulated the hydrogen uptake properties of six covalent organic frameworks (COFs) and concluded that 3D COFs are the “most promising new candidates in the quest for practical H2 storage materials.” The team, led by Omar Yaghi at UCLA and William Goddard III at Caltech, reported on their work in a 7 August ASAP paper in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
COFs, related to metal-organic frameworks (MOFs, earlier post) are the first crystalline porous organic networks. Developed by Yaghi and his team (earlier post), COFs hold together the organic building units with strong covalent bonds (C-C, C-O, B-O, and Si-C) rather than metal ions to create materials with high porosity and low crystal density.
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DOE to Award $15.3M to 10 On-Board Hydrogen Storage R&D Projects
August 14, 2008
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has selected 10 cost-shared hydrogen storage research and development projects to receive up to $15.3 million over five years, subject to annual appropriations.
The selected projects seek to develop hydrogen storage technologies to enable fuel cell vehicles to meet customer expectations for longer driving range and performance. The projects include development of novel hydrogen storage materials, development of efficient methods for regeneration of hydrogen storage materials, and approaches to increase hydrogen binding energies to enable room temperature hydrogen storage.
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Progress in Synthesizing Ammonia Borane for Use in H2 Storage Systems
June 23, 2008
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| Different ammonia borane (AB) materials (red diamonds) show promise for meeting the DOE systems requirements for an on-board hydrogen storage material (the area inside the dotted lines). Click to enlarge. Source: DOE |
Researchers at US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have made progress on developing a simple “one-pot” reaction to make ammonia borane (NH3BH3, abbreviated as AB), which at formula 19 wt% H2, is a chemical hydrogen storage material of ongoing interest for use in on-board storage systems. They report on their process in the inaugural issue of the Royal Society of Chemistry journal Energy & Environmental Science.
Ammonia borane is a stable white powder which begins to release gas upon heating to more than 70°C. With a gravimetric density of around 194 g H2 kg-1 and a volumetric density of around 146 g H2 liter-1, AB is a promising chemical hydrogen storage material.
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Sierra Lobo to Test New Liquid Hydrogen Storage System in Hydrogen-Fueled Silverado
June 19, 2008
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| The Sierra Lobo liquid hydrogen storage system (vacuum jacket not shown). Click to enlarge. |
Sierra Lobo will test its No-Vent Liquid Hydrogen Storage and Delivery System, currently under development under contract with the Department of Defense (DOD), in a custom Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine (HICE) Silverado truck provided by Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation (eTec) (earlier post).
The No-Vent system, specifically developed to eliminate hydrogen boil-off in ground and space transportation systems, is derived from liquid hydrogen (LH2) storage system technologies originally developed under several Department of Defense contracts that Sierra Lobo is now integrating for dual-use (military and commercial) hydrogen vehicle applications.
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Researchers Show Mechanism for Catalyst Supported Hydrogen Release in Metal Hydride Storage Systems
June 16, 2008
An international research team led by Swedish Professor Rajeev Ahuja, Uppsala University, has demonstrated an atomistic mechanism of hydrogen release in magnesium hydride (MgH2) nanoparticles—a potential on-board hydrogen storage material. The findings have been published in the online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS).
Metal hydrides are one of the areas of focus for next-generation hydrogen storage technologies. Magnesium may absorb up to 7.7 weight per cent of hydrogen, and has commonly been studied for this purpose, especially since faster loading and unloading of hydrogen can be accomplished by adding catalysts such as iron and nickel particles.
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SRNL Develops New Permeable Microspheres; Potential for Hydrogen Storage
June 06, 2008
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| SRNL researchers removed the top of a glass microsphere to show how palladium has easily passed through the sphere’s pores and assembled itself into a new nanostructure. Click to enlarge. Credit: Savannah River National Lab, American Ceramic Society |
Researchers at the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) have developed a novel material called Porous Wall-Hollow Glass Microspheres (PW-HGM)—tiny glass microballoons 2-100 microns in diameter. The distinguishing characteristic of the microspheres is the interconnected porosity of their thin outer walls that can be produced and varied on a scale of 100 Å to 3,000 Å.
SRNL Researchers G.G. Wicks, L.K. Heung, and R.F. Schumacher have been able to use these open channels to fill the microballoons with gas absorbents and other materials. Hydrogen or other reactive gases can then enter the microspheres through the pores, creating a relatively safe, contained, solid-state storage system. As part of a program with Toyota, SRNL is investigating filling these microspheres with other special hydrogen absorbents to develop safe hydrogen-gas storage systems for vehicles.
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Lawrence Livermore Prototype LH2 Tank Maintains Extended Thermal Endurance
June 05, 2008
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| H2 is often stored as a compressed gas, GH2 (red dot) at ambient temperature (horizontal axis), very high pressure (dotted lines), and relatively low density (vertical axis). Liquid hydrogen (LH2) is stored at much higher density, (blue dot) with higher energetic cost to densify hydrogen. Insulated pressure vessels have flexibility to operate across a broad region (shaded) of the phase diagram, and can be fueled with GH2 at a low energetic cost when energy or fuel cost savings is important or with LH2 when long driving range is a higher priority. Click to enlarge. |
An insulated cryogenic pressure vessel developed and installed in an experimental hybrid vehicle—a Prius converted by Quantum for hydrogen use—by a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) research team can hold liquid hydrogen (LH2) for six days without venting any of the fuel.
The LLNL development has significantly increased the amount of time it takes to start releasing hydrogen during periods of long-term parking, as compared to today’s liquid hydrogen tanks capable of holding hydrogen for merely two to four days.
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StorHy Subproject Team Shows New Liquid Hydrogen Tank
June 04, 2008
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| Liquid Hydrogen (LH2) lightweight formtank with integrated auxiliary systems. Click to enlarge. |
BMW Group Forschung und Technik, the company’s research and technology arm, and other partners in the EU’s StorHy project, including some from the European aerospace industry, have developed a novel type of tank made of composite material for storing liquid hydrogen.
The weight of the entire new tank system can be reduced to a third compared with conventional cylindrical steel tanks. Its adaptable form lends it a high degree of flexibility, allowing for significant energy savings. The subsidiary systems, moreover, are integrated inside the tank’s casing, which means the tank takes up less room in the car and maintenance is also made much easier.
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Improved Ion Mobility Is Key to New Hydrogen Storage Compound
May 15, 2008
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| The atomic structure of the mix of lithium amide with lightweight metal hydrides shows layers of calcium that the lithium ions can sprint through. This facilitates hydrogen storage and release. Click to enlarge. Credit: NIST |
A materials scientist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has deciphered the structure of a new class of materials that can store relatively large quantities of hydrogen within its crystal structure for later release. The new analysis may point to a practical hydrogen storage material for automobile fuel cells and similar applications.
Hui Wu, a research associate from the University of Maryland working in a cooperative research program at the NIST Center for Neutron Research, has been investigating a new hydrogen storage compound that mixes lithium amide (LiNH2) with lightweight metal hydrides (CaH2) to create a ternary imide Li2Ca(NH)2.
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Researchers Extract Hydrogen for Use in Fuel Cells from Formic Acid at Room Temperature
May 07, 2008
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| A CO2-H2 power supply system as envisioned by the Leibniz team. Click to enlarge. |
Researchers at the Leibniz Institute of Catalysis in Rostock, Germany have developed a feasible process for the on-demand release of hydrogen from formic acid (HCO2H) without the need for the high-temperature reforming process usually involved in other thermochemical hydrogen generation systems.
Björn Loges, Albert Boddien, Henrik Junge, and Matthias Beller report in the journal Angewandte Chemie that this hydrogen, generated at room temperature, can be directly introduced into fuel cells.
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Silicon Nanotubes Outperform Carbon Nanotubes for Hydrogen Storage
April 20, 2008
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| Modeled snapshots and gravimetric adsorption capacities of hydrogen in the silicon nanotube arrays (SiNT), top; and carbon nanotubes (CNT), bottom. T = 298 K and P = 2, 6, and 10 MPa. Click to enlarge. |
Researchers at the Beijing University of Chemical Technology (BUCT) have determined that silicon nanotubes can store hydrogen more efficiently than carbon nanotubes. Their study is published in the ACS’ Journal of Physical Chemistry C.
The paper is one of the latest in a growing set of research seeking to leverage nanotube structures for hydrogen storage. Although work on the hydrogen storage potential of carbon nanotubes has been underway since 1997, most efforts using those materials have failed to reach the US Department of Energy (DOE) target of 6 wt% for commercial application.
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US Naval Surface Warfare Center Soliciting R&D Projects on Solid-State Hydrogen Storage
April 13, 2008
The US Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC Crane) and the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) are soliciting research projects to identify novel materials and processes that can provide potential breakthroughs in solid-state hydrogen storage and accelerate the adoption of these technologies by the military.
Many military applications require hydrogen storage and generation systems to be situated in confined spaces or battlefield environments (dust, broad temperature range, sea salt atmosphere, etc.). The objectives of the research program are to significantly increase the readiness of advanced hydrogen storage approaches (including solid-state hydrogen storage materials and systems) and to integrate advanced hydrogen storage systems into vehicles.
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High Density of Hydrogen Storage in MOFs Could Enable Practical Mobile Hydrogen Storage
April 02, 2008
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| MOF-74 resembles a series of tightly packed straws comprising mostly carbon atoms (white balls) with columns of zinc ions (blue balls) running down the walls. Heavy hydrogen molecules (green balls) adsorbed in MOF-74 pack into the tubes more densely than they would in solid form. Click to enlarge. Source: NIST |
A research team from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the University of Maryland and the California Institute of Technology has demonstrated that the metal-organic framework material MOF-74 can absorb more hydrogen than any unpressurized framework structure studied to date, and packs the molecules in more densely than they would be if frozen in a block.
By achieving technologically relevant levels of gravimetric density for stored hydrogen without either the extremely high pressures for gaseous hydrogen or extremely low temperatures for liquid hydrogen, MOF-74 could enable practical mobile hydrogen storage. The researchers describe their work in a paper published online in the ACS journal Langmuir.
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BMW Shows Demonstration Mono-Fuel Version of the Hydrogen 7; Next Engine Version Will Use Charging for 2-3X Increase in Power Density
March 31, 2008
BMW introduced a new mono-fuel version of its Hydrogen 7 vehicle at the 2008 National Hydrogen Association Conference in Sacramento, CA today. The BMW Hydrogen 7 mono-fuel is a demonstration production vehicle, not a prototype, and was created to showcase the zero CO2 and low emissions potential and feasibility of a dedicated hydrogen internal combustion engine (ICE).
Based on the BMW Hydrogen 7 bi-fuel version (gasoline and hydrogen) (earlier post), the BMW Hydrogen 7 mono-fuel is equipped with a 6.0-liter V12 internal combustion engine (ICE) which has been engineered to run exclusively on hydrogen. The hydrogen storage system in the mono-fuel version is the same as in the bi-fuel version: a cryogenic tank that holds approximately 8 kg (17.6 lbs) of liquid hydrogen.
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DOE Selects Quantum and Boeing for Advanced Hydrogen Storage Project
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has selected for final negotiations for a contact a joint project by Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Inc. and Boeing to develop next-generation manufacturing technologies for hydrogen storage vessels. Total value of the project is $5.6 million over three years. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LNNL) and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) will also contribute to the project.
The overall goal of this project is to leverage the advances in precision composite material processing technologies in the aerospace sector to develop innovative manufacturing techniques for hydrogen storage tanks, with the intent to drive down costs significantly.
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Researchers Assess Fullerene Nanocage Capacity for Hydrogen Storage
March 21, 2008
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| Computed structures of all-carbon cages of fullerenes filled with hydrogen. Click to enlarge. |
Researchers at Rice University have modelled fullerene nanocages filled with hydrogen to assess their capacity to store the gas. Among their conclusions are that some buckyballs (a C60 cage) can hold about 8 wt% of hydrogen at room temperature, and that the hydrogen pressure inside the fullerene nanocage could reach values only a few times smaller than the pressure of hydrogen metallization—100 GPa (1 Mbar).
Earlier experiments have shown that it’s possible to store small volumes of hydrogen inside buckyballs. The new research by Boris Yakobson, professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at Rice, and former postdoctoral researchers Olga Pupysheva and Amir Farajian, offers the first method of precisely calculating how much hydrogen a buckyball can hold before breaking. The research is featured on the cover of the March 2008 edition of the journal Nano Letters.
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Hythane Company Proposes Using Liquid Hydrogen Fuel Tank for Regen Energy Storage
March 18, 2008
Hythane Company LLC, the wholly-owned US subsidiary of Eden Energy, is proposing integrating a Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES) system within the walls of a cryogenic storage vessel for liquid hydrogen to create a hybrid on-board fuel/electrical energy storage device that could capture electrical energy from a regenerative braking system or other engine generation system in addition to storing the fuel.
The fuel tank itself would thus become a storage device to capture electrical energy from a regenerative braking system or other engine generation system, reducing or eliminating the need for on-board batteries. Hythane Company has just received a US patent for this integrated concept: “Cryogenic Container and Superconductivity Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES) System”.
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DOE to Provide $35-$40M for Materials-Based Hydrogen Storage Engineering Center of Excellence; Gaseous and Liquid Hydrogen Systems Not Included
March 02, 2008
The Department of Energy (DOE) Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and Infrastructure Technologies Program within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is soliciting applications to fund one multidisciplinary Hydrogen Storage Engineering Center of Excellence (CoE) team. Applications are due 4 June 2008.
This CoE team will complement the work of existing independent projects and the three materials-based hydrogen storage CoEs (adsorbents, metal hydrides and chemical hydrogen storage materials) by researching and developing onboard vehicular hydrogen storage systems and components that will allow for a driving range of more than 300 miles while meeting vehicular packaging, safety, cost and performance requirements. DOE intends to select one team and provide approximately $35 to $40 million over 6 years for this effort.
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Hrein Energy Successfully Test Drives 1.2L Vehicle With Retrofitted Organic Hydride System
February 29, 2008
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| The organic hydride dehydrogenation reactor is mounted inline in the exhaust system. Click to enlarge. |
Hrein Energy, in cooperation with Futaba Industrial Co., Ltd, ITO Racing Service Co. Ltd.. and Dr. Ichikawa Masaru, a professor emeritus of Hokkaido University, has successfully test-driven a 1.2-liter Nissan March retrofitted with an on-board organic hydride system (earlier post) that delivers supplemental hydrogen to the gasoline engine.
Adding several percent of hydrogen dehydrogenated from the organic hydride to the intake air supported very lean-burn combustion. Fuel efficiency was improved by 30%; CO2 emissions were cut by 30%; and concentrations of CO and NOx were “considerably reduced”, according to the company.
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UCLA Researchers Suggest Mechanisms for Hydrogen Uptake and Release in Titantium-Doped Hydrides; Findings Could Lead to Improved Hydrogen Storage
February 27, 2008
In a study that could have importance for the development of improved hydrogen storage materials, researchers at UCLA have clarified the mechanisms of hydrogen release and uptake in transition-metal-doped sodium alanate (NaAlH4), a prototypical high-density complex hydride. The study is published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
In 1997, it was discovered that adding a small amount of titanium to a well-known metal hydride, sodium alanate, not only lowers the temperature of hydrogen release from the material but also allows for an easy refueling and storage of high density hydrogen at reasonable pressures and temperatures. In fact, the weight percent of stored hydrogen was instantly doubled in comparison with other inexpensive materials.
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Researchers Refine Aluminum Alloy to Enable Economically Viable, Large-Scale, On-Demand Hydrogen Production
February 19, 2008
Researchers at Purdue University have further refined their aluminum-gallium alloy used in a hydrogen production process (earlier post) that they say is now economically competitive with conventional fuels for transportation and power generation.
The new alloy contains 95% aluminum and 5% of an alloy that is made of the metals gallium, indium and tin. Its predecessor in the research contained 80% aluminum and 20% gallium. Because the new alloy contains significantly less of the more expensive gallium than previous forms of the alloy, hydrogen can be produced less expensively, according to Jerry Woodall, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue, who invented the process.
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Researchers Propose On-Board Fuel Processing with Carbon Capture for Zero-GHG, Hydrogen-Fueled Combustion Engine Vehicles
February 11, 2008
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| The vision of a sustainable carbon economy for transportation relies on the on-board conversion of a liquid hydrocarbon fuel with CO2 capture and recycling. Click to enlarge. |
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology are exploring a conceptual strategy to capture, store and eventually recycle carbon dioxide emissions from mobile and small distributed stationary sources—such as automobiles, transportation vehicles and distributed industrial power generation applications (e.g., diesel power generators). Nearly two-thirds of global carbon emissions are created by such mobile and stationary sources.
Georgia Tech’s strategy involves using an on-board fuel processor to reform a liquid hydrocarbon fuel (fossil or synthetic) to produce hydrogen to power the vehicle or stationary source. The carbon in the original fuel is captured and stored on board in a liquid form, until it is disposed of at a refueling station.
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Researchers Develop “Molecular Nanovalves” for Gas Storage in Metal Organic Frameworks; Potential for H2 Storage
February 02, 2008
Researchers at the University of Calgary (Canada) have developed a new process for capturing and storing gas in metal organic frameworks based on the use of “molecular nanovalves”. The new method of gas storage could yield benefits for capturing, storing and transporting gases more safely and efficiently.
Using the orderly crystal structure of a barium organotrisulfonate, the researchers developed a unique open-channel material that shifts structure to form closed pores in the solid when dehydrated. This occurs through multiple single-crystal to single-crystal transformations. The gas composing the atmosphere during dehydration becomes trapped in the resulting air-tight chambers. On rehydration, the pores open to release the trapped gas.
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DOE Issues $6M Solicitation for Vehicular Hydrogen Storage R&D
January 29, 2008
The Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a solicitation for new applied research and development projects for viable hydrogen storage technologies for on-board vehicular applications. Projects may support existing DOE Hydrogen Storage Centers of Excellence or may be independent R&D projects. The total funding available for all new awards is $6 million. DOE expects to fund three to six new projects.
Projects funded through this announcement will be incorporated into the framework of The National Hydrogen Storage Project, a five-year, $150-million program targeting the development of hydrogen storage systems that are capable of meeting long-term DOE targets.
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Researchers Demonstrate 7 wt% Hydrogen Storage Capacity in Carbon Nanotubes
January 28, 2008
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| AFM images of the same tubes before and after hydrogenation. (a) Before hydrogenation, a SWNT with the diameter of ~1.8 nm; (b) diameter of the tube in panel a increased to ~2.1 nm after hydrogenation; (c) before hydrogenation, a SWNT with diameter of ~1.0 nm; (d) the tube in panel c is cut after hydrogenation (marked with arrow) and diameter of the tube increased to ~1.3 nm. Click to enlarge. |
Researchers at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory and FYSIKUM at Stockholm University have demonstrated that specific carbon nanotubes can have a hydrogen storage capacity of more than 7 wt% through the formation of reversible C-H bonds—i.e., through chemisorption, rather than physisorption.
The team found that the maximal degree of nanotube hydrogenation depends on the nanotube diameter, and for the diameter values around 2.0 nm, nanotube-hydrogen complexes with close to 100% hydrogenation exist and are stable at room temperature. They reported on their work in a paper in the journal Nano Letters.
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New Approach to Developing Nanoporous Materials Shows Promise for Hydrogen Storage
January 01, 2008
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| SEM micrograph of hypercrosslinked polyaniline at magnification of 15000x. Click to enlarge. |
Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley have developed an entirely new type of nanoporous material—hypercrosslinked polyaniline—that shows promise as a potential storage medium for hydrogen.
The new materials have a permanent porous structure and specific surface areas exceeding 630 m2 g-1. The researchers, led by Frantisek Svec, found that the best adsorbent of the materials had a hydrogen storage capacity of 2.2 wt% at 77 K and 3.0 MPa.
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Review Panel Recommends “No-Go” on Further Funding for Sodium Borohydride for On-Board Vehicular Hydrogen Storage
December 29, 2007
An independent technical review panel convened at the behest of the Department of Energy to consider the technical status and progress of R&D on the hydrolysis of sodium borohydride (NaBH4) for on-board vehicular hydrogen storage has unanimously recommended a “no-go” to further funding.
Millenium Cell and others have been working on sodium borohydride-based systems for a range of applications, from portable devices to transportation. DaimlerChrysler used Millenium Cell technology it its Natrium fuel cell concept car, introduced in 2001. The Natrium (Latin for sodium, and the origin of the “Na” symbol for the element) was based on a Town and Country minivan, and used a Millenium Cell fuel processor with a Ballard fuel cell, Siemens motor and SAFT Li-ion battery pack. (Earlier post.)
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New Ternary Self-Catalyzing Hydride Releases Hydrogen Rapidly at Lower Temperatures
December 21, 2007
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| The reaction scheme for the ternary hydride composite 2LiNH2 + LiBH4 + MgH2, which summarizes the phases present at different preparation and hydrogen desorption (rehydrogenation) states as well as the related sequential chemical reactions. |
A research team at the Ford Motor Company and the University of California, Los Angeles, has developed a novel ternary self-catalyzing hydride that can rapidly release hydrogen at lower temperatures and without dangerous by-products.
Certain hydrogen compounds, such as lithium borohydride (LiBH4) and magnesium hydride (MgH2), can release hydrogen and then take it up again. However, for automotive applications, they require temperatures that are too high to release hydrogen, the hydrogen release and uptake are far too slow, and decomposition reactions release undesirable by-products such as ammonia.
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Researchers Report Highest Hydrogen Capacity Yet for MOF-5 at Warmer Temperatures
December 19, 2007
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| Structure of the hydrogen-storing metal-organic framework MOF-5. Click to enlarge. Source: (2007) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 104, 20145-20146 |
Metal-organic framework (MOF) compounds, which consist of metal-oxide clusters connected by organic linkers, are a relatively new class of nanoporous material that show promise for hydrogen storage applications because of their tunable pore size and functionality. (Earlier post.) The hydrogen sorption processes in these systems display good reversibility and fast kinetics.
One of the challenges of MOFs, however, is that the weak dispersive interactions that hold H2 molecules require low operations temperatures and/or high pressures. A research team led by Professor Rajeev Ahuja at Uppsala University (Sweden) has now reported what it believes is the highest hydrogen capacity yet for metal-organic framework-5 (MOF-5) at warmer temperatures (200 K to 300 K, or -73°C to +27°C). These findings are being published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
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ESRF Researchers Discover Unexpected and Promising New Form of Hydride for Hydrogen Storage
December 04, 2007
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| Crystal structure of the LiBH4 new phase. Click to enlarge. Credits: Andgewandte Chemie. |
Scientists at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) have discovered a new form of lithium borohydride—a material that contains 18 wt% of hydrogen, making it potentially attractive for on-board hydrogen storage in vehicles. The drawback to date of lithium borohydride is that it only releases hydrogen at quite high temperatures (above 300°C).
The team at the ESRF has found a new form of the compound that could possibly release hydrogen in mild conditions. This discovery, completely unexpected from the point of view of theoretical predictions, was published today as a Very Important Paper in Angewandte Chemie.
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European Commission Proposes Strategic Plan to Accelerate Low-Carbon Energy Technologies; Transport Sector Focus on Biofuels and Hydrogen
November 24, 2007
The European Commission has proposed its Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan), a comprehensive plan to establish a new energy research agenda for Europe. The Commission believes that Europe should lower the costs of clean energy and put EU industry at the forefront of the rapidly growing low carbon-technology sector.
This Plan is to be accompanied by better use of and increases in resources, both financial and human, to accelerate the development and deployment of low-carbon technologies of the future, according to the EC.
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Shell Selects Ilika for Joint Development Project in Solid-State Hydrogen Storage
October 30, 2007
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| Gravimetric and volumetric densities of various hydrogen storage options. Click to enlarge. Source: Edwards |
Shell Hydrogen B.V., a division of the Shell Group has entered into a joint development project with Ilika Technologies Ltd to develop materials suitable for the solid-state storage of hydrogen.
Ilika specializes in combinatorial technology for rapidly creating and screening materials. The large numbers of samples that can be synthesized and screened with respect to an identified capability means that Ilika can optimize materials in a much shorter timeframe.
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ECOtality to Participate in Arizona Public Service and DOE Advanced Hydrogasification Project
October 16, 2007
ECOtality, Inc. will participate in the Arizona Public Service (APS) Advanced Hydrogasification Project (AHP) by investigating the use of its Hydrality technology for on-demand hydrogen production and storage to support APS’ hydrogasification efforts to deliver “clean” electricity to the public.
The AHP program is a collaborative project among APS and industry partners, including the DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), to develop an economical process of producing substitute natural gas (SNG) from coal without the release of carbon dioxide.
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Researchers Develop Model to Help Identify Optimal Hydrides for On-Board Hydrogen Storage
October 03, 2007
Researchers at UCLA and Northwestern University have developed a model that could help speed up the development of hydrogen-fueled vehicles by identifying promising materials for hydrogen storage and predicting favored thermodynamic chemical reactions through which hydrogen can be reversibly stored and extracted.
The new method, published online in the peer-reviewed journal Advanced Materials, was developed by Alireza Akbarzadeh, a UCLA postdoctoral researcher in the department of materials science and engineering; Vidvuds Ozoliņš, UCLA associate professor of materials science and engineering; and Christopher Wolverton, professor of materials science and engineering at Northwestern University in Illinois.
