Publications
Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles and Hydrogen Balancing 100 Percent Renewable and Integrated National Transportation and Energy Systems
Feb 2021
Publication
Future national electricity heating cooling and transport systems need to reach zero emissions. Significant numbers of back-up power plants as well as large-scale energy storage capacity are required to guarantee the reliability of energy supply in 100 percent renewable energy systems. Electricity can be partially converted into hydrogen which can be transported via pipelines stored in large quantities in underground salt caverns to overcome seasonal effects and used as electricity storage or as a clean fuel for transport. The question addressed in this paper is how parked and grid-connected hydrogen-fuelled Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles might balance 100 per cent renewable electricity heating cooling and transport systems at the national level in Denmark Germany Great Britain France and Spain? Five national electricity heating cooling and transport systems are modeled for the year 2050 for the five countries assuming only 50 percent of the passenger cars to be grid-connected Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles the remaining Battery Electric Vehicles. The grid-connected Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle fleet can always balance the energy systems and their usage is low having load factors of 2.1–5.5 percent corresponding to an average use of 190–480 h per car per year. At peak times occurring only a few hours per year 26 to 43 percent of the grid-connected Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle are required and in particular for energy systems with high shares of solar energy such as Spain balancing by grid-connected Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles is mainly required during the night which matches favorably with driving usage.
Review of the Current Status of Ammonia-Blended Hydrogen Fuel Engine Development
Jan 2022
Publication
As fossil fuels continue to be extracted and used issues such as environmental pollution and energy scarcity are surfacing. For the transportation industry the best way to achieve the goal of “carbon neutrality” is to research efficient power systems and develop new alternative fuels. As the world’s largest product of chemicals ammonia is a new renewable fuel with good combustion energy. It can be used as an alternative fuel to reduce carbon emissions because of its proven production process low production and transportation costs safe storage the absence of carbon-containing compounds in its emissions and its future recyclability. This paper firstly introduces the characteristics of ammonia fuel engine and its problems; then it summarizes the effects of various ammonia-blended fuels on the combustion and emission characteristics of the engine from the combustion problem of ammonia-blended engine; then the fuel storage of ammonia-blended hydrogen is discussed the feasibility of hydrogen production instead of hydrogen storage is introduced.
Design of a Methanol Reformer for On-board Production of Hydrogen as Fuel for a 3 kW High-Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Power System
Sep 2020
Publication
The method of Computational Fluid Dynamics is used to predict the process parameters and select the optimum operating regime of a methanol reformer for on-board production of hydrogen as fuel for a 3 kW High-Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell power system. The analysis uses a three reactions kinetics model for methanol steam reforming water gas shift and methanol decomposition reactions on Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst. Numerical simulations are performed at single channel level for a range of reformer operating temperatures and values of the molar flow rate of methanol per weight of catalyst at the reformer inlet. Two operating regimes of the fuel processor are selected which offer high methanol conversion rate and high hydrogen production while simultaneously result in a small reformer size and a reformate gas composition that can be tolerated by phosphoric acid-doped high temperature membrane electrode assemblies for proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Based on the results of the numerical simulations the reactor is sized and its design is optimized.
Mechanism of Action of Polytetrafluoroethylene Binder on the Performance and Durability of High-temperature Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells
Feb 2021
Publication
In this work new insights into impacts of the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) binder on high temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cells (HT-PEFCs) are provided by means of various characterizations and accelerated stress tests. Cathodes with PTFE contents from 0 wt% to 60 wt% were fabricated and compared using electrochemical measurements. The results indicate that the cell with 10 wt% PTFE in the cathode catalyst layer (CCL) shows the best performance due to having the lowest mass transport resistance and cathode protonic resistance. Moreover cyclic voltammograms show that Pt (100) edge and corner sites are significantly covered by PTFE and phosphate anions when the PTFE content is higher than 25 wt%. Open-circuit and low load-cycling conditions are applied to accelerate degradation processes of the HT-PEFCs. The PTFE binder shows a network structure in the pores of the catalyst layer which reduces phosphoric acid leaching during the aging tests. In addition the high binder HT-PEFCs more easily suffer from a mass transport problem leading to more severe performance degradation.
Application of Liquid Hydrogen Carriers in Hydrogen Steelmaking
Mar 2021
Publication
Steelmaking is responsible for approximately one third of total industrial carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Hydrogen (H2) direct reduction (H-DR) may be a feasible route towards the decarbonization of primary steelmaking if H2 is produced via electrolysis using fossil-free electricity. However electrolysis is an electricity-intensive process. Therefore it is preferable that H2 is predominantly produced during times of low electricity prices which is enabled by the storage of H2. This work compares the integration of H2 storage in four liquid carriers methanol (MeOH) formic acid (FA) ammonia (NH3) and perhydro-dibenzyltoluene (H18-DBT) in H-DR processes. In contrast to conventional H2 storage methods these carriers allow for H2 storage in liquid form at moderate overpressures reducing the storage capacity cost. The main downside to liquid H2 carriers is that thermochemical processes are necessary for both the storage and release processes often with significant investment and operational costs. The carriers are compared using thermodynamic and economic data to estimate operational and capital costs in the H-DR context considering process integration options. It is concluded that the use of MeOH is promising compared to the other considered carriers. For large storage volumes MeOH-based H2 storage may also be an attractive option to the underground storage of compressed H2. The other considered liquid H2 carriers suffer from large thermodynamic barriers for hydrogenation (FA) or dehydrogenation (NH3 H18-DBT) and higher investment costs. However for the use of MeOH in an H-DR process to be practically feasible questions regarding process flexibility and the optimal sourcing of CO2 and heat must be answered
Nonlinear Model Predictive Control of an Autonomous Power System Based on Hydrocarbon Reforming and High Temperature Fuel Cell
Mar 2021
Publication
The integration and control of energy systems for power generation consists of multiple heterogeneous subsystems such as chemical electrochemical and thermal and contains challenges that arise from the multi-way interactions due to complex dynamic responses among the involved subsystems. The main motivation of this work is to design the control system for an autonomous automated and sustainable system that meets a certain power demand profile. A systematic methodology for the integration and control of a hybrid system that converts liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to hydrogen which is subsequently used to generate electrical power in a high-temperature fuel cell that charges a Li-Ion battery unit is presented. An advanced nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) framework is implemented to achieve this goal. The operational objective is the satisfaction of power demand while maintaining operation within a safe region and ensuring thermal and chemical balance. The proposed NMPC framework based on experimentally validated models is evaluated through simulation for realistic operation scenarios that involve static and dynamic variations of the power load.
Comparative Technical and Economic Analyses of Hydrogen-Based Steel and Power Sectors
Mar 2024
Publication
Decarbonizing the current steel and power sectors through the development of the hydrogen direct-reduction iron ore–electric arc furnace route and the 100% hydrogen-fired gas turbine cycle is crucial. The current study focuses on three clusters of research works. The first cluster covers the investigation of the mass and energy balance of the route and the subsequent application of these values in experiments to optimize the reduction yield of iron ore. In the second cluster the existing gas turbine unit was selected for the complete replacement of natural gas with hydrogen and for finding the most optimal mass and energy balance in the cycle through an Aspen HYSYS model. In addition the chemical kinetics in the hydrogen combustion process were simulated using Ansys Chemkin Pro to research the emissions. In the last cluster a comparative economic analysis was conducted to identify the levelized cost of production of the route and the levelized cost of electricity of the cycle. The findings in the economic analysis provided good insight into the details of the capital and operational expenditures of each industrial sector in understanding the impact of each kg of hydrogen consumed in the plants. These findings provide a good basis for future research on reducing the cost of hydrogen-based steel and power sectors. Moreover the outcomes of this study can also assist ongoing large-scale hydrogen and ammonia projects in Uzbekistan in terms of designing novel hydrogen-based industries with cost-effective solutions.
Hydrolysis-Based Hydrogen Generation Investigation of Aluminium System Adding Low-Melting Metals
Mar 2021
Publication
In this age of human civilization there is a need for more efficient cleaner and renewable energy as opposed to that provided by nonrenewable sources such as coal and oil. In this sense hydrogen energy has been proven to be a better choice. In this paper a portable graphite crucible metal smelting furnace was used to prepare ten multi-element aluminum alloy ingots with different components. The microstructure and phase composition of the ingots and reaction products were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The reaction was carried out in a constant temperature water bath furnace at 60°C and the hydrogen production performance of the multi-element aluminum alloys in different proportions was compared by the drainage gas collection method. The experimental results show that the as-cast microstructure of Al–Ga–In–Sn aluminum alloy is composed of a solid solution of Al and part of Ga and a second phase of In3Sn. After the hydrolysis reaction the products were dried at 150°C and then analyzed by XRD. The products were mainly composed of AlOOH and In3Sn. Alloys with different compositions react at the same hydrolysis temperature and the hydrogen production performance is related to the ratio of low-melting-point metal elements. By comparing two different ratios of Ga–In–Sn (GIS) the hydrogen production capacity and production rate when the ratio is 6:3:1 are generally higher than those when the ratio is 7:2:1. The second phase content affects the hydrogen production performance.
Technical Feasibility of Low Carbon Heating in Domestic Buildings
Dec 2020
Publication
Scotland’s Climate Change Plan set an ambition for emissions from buildings to be near zero by 2050 and targets 35% of domestic and 70% of non-domestic buildings’ heat to be supplied using low carbon technologies by 2032. The Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019 set a new target for emissions to be net zero by 2045 with interim targets of 75% by 2030 and 90% by 2040. The update to the Climate Change Plan will be published at the end of 2020 to reflect these new targets. The Energy Efficient Scotland programme launched in May 2018 sets out a wide range of measures to promote low carbon heating alongside energy efficiency improvements in Scotland’s buildings. Meeting these targets will require almost all households in Scotland to change the way they heat their homes. It is therefore imperative to advance our understanding of the suitability of the available low carbon heating options across Scotland’s building stock.<br/><br/>The aim of this work is to assess the suitability of low carbon heating technologies in residential buildings in Scotland. The outputs generated through this work will form a key part of the evidence base on low carbon heat which the Scottish Government will use to further develop and strengthen Scotland’s low carbon heat policy in line with the increased level of ambition of achieving Net Zero by 2045.
Multi-Objective Optimal Design of a Hydrogen Supply Chain Powered with Agro-Industrial Wastes from the Sugarcane Industry: A Mexican Case Study
Jan 2022
Publication
This paper presents an optimization modeling approach to support strategic planning for designing hydrogen supply chain (HSC) networks. The energy source for hydrogen production is proposed to be electricity generated at Mexican sugar factories. This study considers the utilization of existing infrastructure in strategic areas of the country which brings several advantages in terms of possible solutions. This study aims to evaluate the economic and environmental implications of using biomass wastes for energy generation and its integration to the national energy grid where the problem is addressed as a mixed-integer linear program (MILP) adopting maximization of annual profit and minimization of greenhouse gas emissions as optimization criteria. Input data is provided by sugar companies and the national transport and energy information platform and were represented by probability distributions to consider variability in key parameters. Independent solutions show similarities in terms of resource utilization while also significant differences regarding economic and environmental indicators. Multi-objective optimization was performed by a genetic algorithm (GA). The optimal HSC network configuration is selected using a multi-criteria decision technique i.e. TOPSIS. An uncertainty analysis is performed and main economic indicators are estimated by investment assessment. Main results show the trade-off interactions between the HSC elements and optimization criteria. The average internal rate of return (IRR) is estimated to be 21.5% and average payback period is 5.02 years.
Research and Development of Hydrogen Carrier Based Solutions for Hydrogen Compression and Storage
Aug 2022
Publication
Martin Dornheim,
Lars Baetcke,
Etsuo Akiba,
Jose-Ramón Ares,
Tom Autrey,
Jussara Barale,
Marcello Baricco,
Kriston Brooks,
Nikolaos Chalkiadakis,
Véronique Charbonnier,
Steven Christensen,
José Bellosta von Colbe,
Mattia Costamagna,
Erika Michela Dematteis,
Jose-Francisco Fernández,
Thomas Gennett,
David Grant,
Tae Wook Heo,
Michael Hirscher,
Katherine Hurst,
Mykhaylo V. Lototskyy,
Oliver Metz,
Paola Rizzi,
Kouji Sakaki,
Sabrina Sartori,
Emmanuel Stamatakis,
Alastair D. Stuart,
Athanasios Stubos,
Gavin Walker,
Colin Webb,
Brandon Wood,
Volodymyr A. Yartys and
Emmanuel Zoulias
Industrial and public interest in hydrogen technologies has risen strongly recently as hydrogen is the ideal means for medium to long term energy storage transport and usage in combination with renewable and green energy supply. In a future energy system the production storage and usage of green hydrogen is a key technology. Hydrogen is and will in future be even more used for industrial production processes as a reduction agent or for the production of synthetic hydrocarbons especially in the chemical industry and in refineries. Under certain conditions material based systems for hydrogen storage and compression offer advantages over the classical systems based on gaseous or liquid hydrogen. This includes in particular lower maintenance costs higher reliability and safety. Hydrogen storage is possible at pressures and temperatures much closer to ambient conditions. Hydrogen compression is possible without any moving parts and only by using waste heat. In this paper we summarize the newest developments of hydrogen carriers for storage and compression and in addition give an overview of the different research activities in this field.
Power Generation Analysis of Terrestrial Ultraviolet-Assisted Solid Oxide Electrolyzer Cell
Jan 2022
Publication
This paper presents a novel system design that considerably improves the entrapment of terrestrial ultraviolet (UV) irradiance in a customized honeycomb structure to produce hydrogen at a standard rate of 7.57 slpm for places with a UV index > 11. Thermolysis of high salinity water is done by employing a solid oxide electrolyzer cell (SOEC) which comprises three customized novel active optical subsystems to filter track and concentrate terrestrial UV solar irradiance by Fresnel lenses. The output of systems is fed to a desalinator a photovoltaic system to produce electrical energy and a steam generator with modified surface morphology to generate the required superheated steam for the SOEC. A simulation in COMSOL Multiphysics ver. 5.6 has shown that a customized honeycomb structure when incorporated on the copper–nickel surface of a steam generator improves its absorptance coefficient up to 93.43% (48.98%—flat case). This results in generating the required superheated steam of 650 ◦C with a designed active optical system comprising nine Fresnel lenses (7 m2 ) that offer the concentration of 36 suns on the honeycomb structure of the steam generator as input. The required 1.27 kW of electrical power is obtained by concentrating the photovoltaic system using In0.33Ga0.67N/Si/InN solar cells. This production of hydrogen is sustainable and cost effective as the estimated cost over 5 years by the proposed system is 0.51 USD/kg compared to the commercially available system which costs 3.18 USD/kg.
Five Minute Guide to Hydrogen
Feb 2016
Publication
Hydrogen is an emerging energy vector many components of which are mature technologies. Current hydrogen technology is already able to provide advantages over other energy vectors and many of its challenges are being actively addressed by research and development.<br/><br/>Hydrogen can be derived stored and converted through various processes each of which represents different levels of carbon intensity efficiency and end use functionality. Our latest five minute guide looks at this energy vector in brief including public perception transportation and storage as well as using hydrogen as a solution.
How the UK’s Hydrogen Sector Can Help Support the UK’s Economic Recovery
Jul 2020
Publication
The APPG on Hydrogen’s latest report urges the Government to move quickly on hydrogen and set ambitious policies to unlock investment create employment opportunities and support the UK’s net-zero targets.
The APPG on Hydrogen’s report developed as part of its inquiry into ‘How the UK’s hydrogen sector can help support the UK’s economic recovery’ sets out 15 recommendations to support and accelerate the growth of the UK’s hydrogen sector.
These include:
The APPG on Hydrogen’s report developed as part of its inquiry into ‘How the UK’s hydrogen sector can help support the UK’s economic recovery’ sets out 15 recommendations to support and accelerate the growth of the UK’s hydrogen sector.
These include:
- Developing a cross-departmental hydrogen strategy between Government and industry
- Using regulatory levers to unlock private sector investment required including amending the GSMR and expanding the remit of the Bus Service Operator Grant
- Setting interim targets for low-carbon hydrogen production by 2030 alongside the introduction of a Low Carbon Obligation to enable investment in low carbon forms of heating such as hydrogen
- Mandating hydrogen-ready boilers by 2025
- Creating greater incentives in hydrogen alternatives to support organisations and customers who produce purchase or use hydrogen HGVs buses and trains
- Working with local and regional authorities exploring hydrogen’s potential to support the uptake and commercialisation of existing projects
- Setting more ambitious policies and financial targets on hydrogen to meet net-zero by 2050 ahead of other international competitors
- Ensuring the UK hydrogen industry plays a major role at COP26 allowing the UK to inspire other nations and sell its products and services
- Delivering funding models to create investment and economic jobs directly to the UK
- Implementing measures similar to Offshore Wind such as Contracts for Difference to incentivise industry and scale-up a hydrogen economy.
Enabling Large-scale Hydrogen Storage in Porous Media – The Scientific Challenges
Jan 2021
Publication
Niklas Heinemann,
Juan Alcalde,
Johannes M. Miocic,
Suzanne J. T. Hangx,
Jens Kallmeyer,
Christian Ostertag-Henning,
Aliakbar Hassanpouryouzband,
Eike M. Thaysen,
Gion J. Strobel,
Cornelia Schmidt-Hattenberger,
Katriona Edlmann,
Mark Wilkinson,
Michelle Bentham,
Stuart Haszeldine,
Ramon Carbonell and
Alexander Rudloff
Expectations for energy storage are high but large-scale underground hydrogen storage in porous media (UHSP) remains largely untested. This article identifies and discusses the scientific challenges of hydrogen storage in porous media for safe and efficient large-scale energy storage to enable a global hydrogen economy. To facilitate hydrogen supply on the scales required for a zero-carbon future it must be stored in porous geological formations such as saline aquifers and depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs. Large-scale UHSP offers the much-needed capacity to balance inter-seasonal discrepancies between demand and supply decouple energy generation from demand and decarbonise heating and transport supporting decarbonisation of the entire energy system. Despite the vast opportunity provided by UHSP the maturity is considered low and as such UHSP is associated with several uncertainties and challenges. Here the safety and economic impacts triggered by poorly understood key processes are identified such as the formation of corrosive hydrogen sulfide gas hydrogen loss due to the activity of microbes or permeability changes due to geochemical interactions impacting on the predictability of hydrogen flow through porous media. The wide range of scientific challenges facing UHSP are outlined to improve procedures and workflows for the hydrogen storage cycle from site selection to storage site operation. Multidisciplinary research including reservoir engineering chemistry geology and microbiology more complex than required for CH4 or CO2 storage is required in order to implement the safe efficient and much needed large-scale commercial deployment of UHSP.
Influence of Thermal Treatment on SCC and HE Susceptibility of Supermartensitic Stainless Steel 16Cr5NiMo
Apr 2020
Publication
A 16Cr5NiMo supermartensitic stainless steel was subjected to different tempering treatments and analyzed by means of permeation tests and slow strain rate tests to investigate the effect of different amounts of retained austenite on its hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility. The 16Cr5NiMo steel class is characterized by a very low carbon content. It is the new variant of 13Cr4Ni. These steels are used in many applications for example compressors for sour environments offshore piping naval propellers aircraft components and subsea applications. The typical microstructure is a soft-tempered martensite very close to a body-centered cubic with a retained austenite fraction and limited δ ferrite phase. Supermartensitic stainless steels have high mechanical properties together with good weldability and corrosion resistance. The amount of retained austenite is useful to increase low temperature toughness and stress corrosion cracking resistance. Experimental techniques allowed us to evaluate diffusion coefficients and the mechanical behaviour of metals in stress corrosion cracking (SCC) conditions.
Hydrogen Production from Natural Gas and Biomethane with Carbon Capture and Storage – A Techno-environmental Analysis
Mar 2020
Publication
This study presents an integrated techno-environmental assessment of hydrogen production from natural gas and biomethane combined with CO2 capture and storage (CCS). We have included steam methane reforming (SMR) and autothermal reforming (ATR) for syngas production. CO2 is captured from the syngas with a novel vacuum pressure swing adsorption (VPSA) process that combines hydrogen purification and CO2 separation in one cycle. As comparison we have included cases with conventional amine-based technology. We have extended standard attributional Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) following ISO standards with a detailed carbon balance of the biogas production process (via digestion) and its by-products. The results show that the life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) performance of the VPSA and amine-based CO2 capture technologies is very similar as a result of comparable energy consumption. The configuration with the highest plant-wide CO2 capture rate (almost 100% of produced CO2 captured) is autothermal reforming with a two-stage water-gas shift and VPSA CO2 capture – because the latter has an inherently high CO2 capture rate of 98% or more for the investigated syngas. Depending on the configuration the addition of CCS to natural gas reforming-based hydrogen production reduces its life-cycle Global Warming Potential by 45–85 percent while the other environmental life-cycle impacts slightly increase. This brings natural gas-based hydrogen on par with renewable electricity-based hydrogen regarding impacts on climate change. When biomethane is used instead of natural gas our study shows potential for net negative greenhouse gas emissions i.e. the net removal of CO2 over the life cycle of biowaste-based hydrogen production. In the special case where the biogas digestate is used as agricultural fertiliser and where a substantial amount of the carbon in the digestate remains in the soil the biowaste-based hydrogen reaches net-negative life cycle greenhouse gas emissions even without the application of CCS. Addition of CCS to biomethane-based hydrogen production leads to net-negative emissions in all investigated cases.
Hydrogen or Batteries for Grid Storage? A Net Energy Analysis
Apr 2015
Publication
Energy storage is a promising approach to address the challenge of intermittent generation from renewables on the electric grid. In this work we evaluate energy storage with a regenerative hydrogen fuel cell (RHFC) using net energy analysis. We examine the most widely installed RHFC configuration containing an alkaline water electrolyzer and a PEM fuel cell. To compare RHFC's to other storage technologies we use two energy return ratios: the electrical energy stored on invested (ESOIe) ratio (the ratio of electrical energy returned by the device over its lifetime to the electrical-equivalent energy required to build the device) and the overall energy efficiency (the ratio of electrical energy returned by the device over its lifetime to total lifetime electrical-equivalent energy input into the system). In our reference scenario the RHFC system has an ESOIeratio of 59 more favorable than the best battery technology available today (Li-ion ESOIe= 35). (In the reference scenario RHFC the alkaline electrolyzer is 70% efficient and has a stack lifetime of 100 000 h; the PEM fuel cell is 47% efficient and has a stack lifetime of 10 000 h; and the round-trip efficiency is 30%.) The ESOIe ratio of storage in hydrogen exceeds that of batteries because of the low energy cost of the materials required to store compressed hydrogen and the high energy cost of the materials required to store electric charge in a battery. However the low round-trip efficiency of a RHFC energy storage system results in very high energy costs during operation and a much lower overall energy efficiency than lithium ion batteries (0.30 for RHFC vs. 0.83 for lithium ion batteries). RHFC's represent an attractive investment of manufacturing energy to provide storage. On the other hand their round-trip efficiency must improve dramatically before they can offer the same overall energy efficiency as batteries which have round-trip efficiencies of 75–90%. One application of energy storage that illustrates the trade-off between these different aspects of energy performance is capturing overgeneration (spilled power) for later use during times of peak output from renewables. We quantify the relative energetic benefit of adding different types of energy storage to a renewable generating facility using [EROI]grid. Even with 30% round-trip efficiency RHFC storage achieves the same [EROI]grid as batteries when storing overgeneration from wind turbines because its high ESOIeratio and the high EROI of wind generation offset the low round-trip efficiency.
Comparison of Hydrogen and Battery Electric Trucks
Jul 2020
Publication
Only emissions-free vehicles which include battery electric (BEVs) and hydrogen fuel cell trucks (FCEVs) can provide for a credible long-term pathway towards the full decarbonisation of the road freight sector. This document lays out the methodology and assumptions which were used to calculate the total cost of ownership (TCO) of the two vehicle technologies for regional delivery and long-haul truck applications. It also discusses other criteria such as refuelling and recharging times as well as potential payload losses.
Link to Document Download on Transport & Environment website
Link to Document Download on Transport & Environment website
Complex Metal Hydrides for Hydrogen, Thermal and Electrochemical Energy Storage
Oct 2017
Publication
Hydrogen has a very diverse chemistry and reacts with most other elements to form compounds which have fascinating structures compositions and properties. Complex metal hydrides are a rapidly expanding class of materials approaching multi-functionality in particular within the energy storage field. This review illustrates that complex metal hydrides may store hydrogen in the solid state act as novel battery materials both as electrolytes and electrode materials or store solar heat in a more efficient manner as compared to traditional heat storage materials. Furthermore it is highlighted how complex metal hydrides may act in an integrated setup with a fuel cell. This review focuses on the unique properties of light element complex metal hydrides mainly based on boron nitrogen and aluminum e.g. metal borohydrides and metal alanates. Our hope is that this review can provide new inspiration to solve the great challenge of our time: efficient conversion and large-scale storage of renewable energy.
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