Chapter 3.3 - Hydrogen storage technology

Abstract

Hydrogen energy is regarded as the clean energy with the most development potential. In order to realize the large-scale application of hydrogen energy, the problem of hydrogen storage must be solved. At present, there are three main ways of hydrogen storage, namely compressed hydrogen storage, liquid hydrogen storage, and solid-state hydrogen storage. Compressed hydrogen storage is the most commonly used hydrogen storage method. After the hydrogen is compressed, it is stored in the form of gas in a cylinder. It has the advantages of low cost and fast charging and discharging speed, but its volumetric hydrogen storage density is extremely low. Liquid hydrogen storage is a cryogenic hydrogen storage technology. After the hydrogen is compressed, it is cryogenically cooled to below −253°C to become liquid hydrogen for storage. Liquid hydrogen has the advantages of high storage efficiency and good volumetric hydrogen storage density, but the liquefaction of hydrogen requires a lot of energy, so its storage cost is high. Solid-state hydrogen storage technology is one of the most promising hydrogen storage technologies, which utilizes the physical adsorption or chemical reaction characteristics between hydrogen and materials to store hydrogen. It has the advantages of good safety and high volumetric hydrogen storage density. Therefore, solid-state hydrogen storage is considered to be one of the most promising hydrogen storage technologies. However, in order to develop solid-state hydrogen storage technology, we must find and develop high-performance hydrogen storage materials, which have become a top priority. The current chapter mainly presents an overview of the developments of three hydrogen storage technologies. In particular, the solid-state hydrogen storage technology and hydrogen storage alloys are emphatically introduced.