A Hydrogen Roadblock Cleared?

One of the biggest roadblocks to the development of a practical fuel cell car has been the problem of how to store enough hydrogen to make it practical. Now, a storage technology developed by The University of Queensland may provide the answer to this problem.

The Queensland engineers have developed magnesium alloys that absorb hydrogen like a sponge, store it safely for long periods and release it on demand when either the pressure or temperature is varied. Under laboratory conditions, it can store enough hydrogen to allow a vehicle (carrying a 100kg storage unit) to drive 500 kilometres, which meets a target set by the US Department of Energy for hydrogen storage systems by 2010.If this storage capacity can be achieved in a full-scale prototype at acceptable hydrogen release temperatures.

UniQuest Managing Director, David Henderson said that the scale-up of Hydrexia’s promising technology could deliver substantial reductions in cost and weight when compared to existing hydrogen storage systems. If this storage capacity can be achieved in a full-scale prototype at acceptable hydrogen release temperatures.

UniQuest Managing Director, David Henderson said that the scale-up of Hydrexia’s promising technology could deliver substantial reductions in cost and weight when compared to existing hydrogen storage systems. If this storage capacity can be achieved in a full-scale prototype at acceptable hydrogen release temperatures it could deliver substantial reductions in cost and weight when compared to existing hydrogen storage systems.

This could be a major breakthrough in fuel cell technology.