The prospects for solid hydrogen storage

'Full text:' With R and D operations in Montreal Canada, HERA develops hydrogen storage materials and systems based on metal hydrides for use in fuel cell (FC), internal combustion engine (ICE) and other hydrogen applications. With the recent acquisition of the business of Ergenics Inc. in the United Sates, HERA's portfolio also includes other systems which use the technology of hydrides such as solid state air conditioning and hydrogen compressors. Shell Hydrogen is a shareholder of HERA along with GfE (Gesellschaft fuer Elektrometallurgie) and Hydro-Quebec CapiTech. Solid hydrogen storage using hydrides as a storage medium is not new and has been used in several demonstration projects. Challenges in particular with cost and weight (hydrogen storage capacity) however have limited the deployment of the technology. On the other hand, alternative technologies such as high-pressure compressed hydrogen do not fully meet the needs of the industry. Over the last year, HERA has made significant progress in the development of catalysts and materials for hydrogen storage. In this presentation, we will present HERA's progress in the development of solid hydrogen storage materials for the new hydrogen economy, in particular developments related to hydrogen storage materials based on alanates. The performance characteristics of HERA's alanates will be presented. The status of hydride storage technologies in general and their use in the new hydrogen economy will also be discussed. (author)