Risk Mitigation Strategies for Hydrogen Storage Materials

Hydrogen is seen as an ideal energy carrier for stationary and mobile applications. However, the use of high energy density materials such as hydrides comes with the drawback of risks associated to their high reactivity towards air and water exposure. We have developed novel strategies to mitigate these risks. These strategies were evaluated using standard UN tests and isothermal calorimetric measurements. Cycling experiments were conducted to assess the impact of the mitigants on the modified materials derived from 8LiH•3Mg(NH2)2 system. In some cases, our results show an improvement in kinetics when compared to the unmodified material.  Effective mitigants were also discovered for aluminium hydride (alane) and lithium borohydride, completely inhibiting ignition.