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Projects: Projects for Investigator
Reference Number 2002-6-263-1-1
Title The safe, efficient and economic large scale storage of hydrogen
Status Completed
Energy Categories Hydrogen and Fuel Cells(Hydrogen, Hydrogen storage) 100%;
Research Types Basic and strategic applied research 100%
Science and Technology Fields PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Chemistry) 80%;
PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Metallurgy and Materials) 20%;
UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation Not Cross-cutting 100%
Principal Investigator Prof D (David ) Book
No email address given
Metallurgy and Materials
University of Birmingham
Award Type 3
Funding Source Carbon Trust
Start Date 01 April 2003
End Date 30 March 2005
Duration 24 months
Total Grant Value £128,400
Industrial Sectors
Region West Midlands
Programme
 
Investigators Principal Investigator Prof D (David ) Book , Metallurgy and Materials, University of Birmingham (100.000%)
Web Site
Objectives The purpose of this proposal is to explore novel, potentially lower-cost materials, which would offer the capability of high volumetric storage of hydrogen.
Abstract It is now widely recognised that a hydrogen-based energy economy may prove to be the best long-term solution to the problems of global warming, security of fuel supply, oil depletion and inner-city pollution. Ideally, hydrogen will primarily be produced by the electrolysis of water using a range of renewable energies. As many of these sources are intermittent (wind, solar, etc), energy storage is a critical issue and hydrogen storage could be one solution. Additionally, as part of the hydrogensupply infrastructure, it will be necessary to store hydrogen on location for a range of applications; for example, vehicular fuelling stations and local/ district energy centres. The alternatives for hydrogen storage are compressed gas cylinders, liquid hydrogen or solid-state stores. However, there are safety and security issues associated with compression and liquefaction, which may favour the use of solid-state storage (typically a low pressure technique) in densely populated, urban areas. The current method of solid-state storage employs metal hydrides (eg LaNi5) that have volumetric storage densities higher than those of compressed gas cylinders or liquid hydrogen. However, on a large scale, such materials would represent a major capital investment, and so there is a need for much cheaper and widely available materials for hydrogen storage. This project has: (i) undertaken a review of the hydrogen fuelling station projects around the world, to assess the various technical requirements for the on-site storage of hydrogen; (ii) studied the basic hydrogen sorption properties of potentially low-cost materials, such as carbons and zeolites. Materials synthesis techniques include High Velocity Ball Milling, with a specially designed milling pot which allows pressure to be monitored during milling (inset photograph). Characterization techniques include the use of a constant pressure Thermogravimetric Analyser (Hiden IGA), which enables the hydrogen uptake and sorption kinetics of different processed materials to be assessed
Publications (none)
Final Report (none)
Added to Database 01/01/07