Hydrogen storage issues

Hydrogen storage is regarded as one of the most critical issues that has to be solved before a
technically and economically viable hydrogen economy can be established. In fact, without effective
storage systems, a hydrogen economy will be difficult to achieve. One of the most challenging
applications in this field is hydrogen storage for mobile applications.

Requirements for hydrogen storage

In hydrogen-fuelled passenger cars, 4–5 kg (130–160 kWh) H2 must be stored in a small, preferably
lightweight, tank in order to achieve a driving range of 500 km (i.e.,80–125km/kgH2). However,
whereas the gravimetric energy density of hydrogen is extremely high, the volumetric storage
density of the lightweight gas is low. At ambient temperature and pressure, 5 kgH2 would fill a ball
5m in diameter, which is roughly comparable to the volume of an inflated hot-air balloon.
Consequently, the most important technical and economic challenges to be overcome in a practical
hydrogen-storage system are the storage density related to the system (including
tank, heat management, and valves), the costs of the system, its safety, a short
refuelling time, and the ability to deliver enough hydrogen during the driving cycle.

The key challenges include:

 Weight and Volume. The weight and volume of hydrogen storage systems are
presently too high, resulting in inadequate vehicle range compared to conventional
petroleum fuelled vehicles. Materials and components are needed that allow compact,
lightweight, hydrogen storage systems while enabling mile range greater than 300
miles in all light-duty vehicle platforms.
 Efficiency. Energy efficiency is a challenge for all hydrogen storage approaches. The
energy required to get hydrogen in and out is an issue for reversible solid-state
materials. Life-cycle energy efficiency is a challenge for chemical hydride storage in
which the byproduct is regenerated off-board. In addition, the energy associated with
compression and liquefaction must be considered for compressed and liquid hydrogen
technologies.
 Durability. Durability of hydrogen storage systems is inadequate. Materials and
components are needed that allow hydrogen storage systems with a lifetime of 1500
cycles.
 Refueling Time. Refueling times are too long. There is a need to develop hydrogen
storage systems with refueling times of less than three minutes over the lifetime of the
system.
 Cost. The cost of on-board hydrogen storage systems is too high, particularly in
comparison with conventional storage systems for petroleum fuels. Low-cost materials
and components for hydrogen storage systems are needed, as well as low-cost, high-
volume manufacturing methods.
 Codes and Standards. Applicable codes and standards for hydrogen storage systems
and interface technologies, which will facilitate implementation/commercialization
and ensure safety and public acceptance, have not been established. Standardized
 hardware and operating procedures, and applicable codes and standards, are
required.
 Life-Cycle and Efficiency Analyses. There is a lack of analyses of the full life-cycle cost
and efficiency for hydrogen storage systems.

Overview of hydrogen storage options

The physical and chemical properties of hydrogen impose technical boundary conditions
on standard methods of storing H2 in pure form, such as a pressurised gas or cryoliquid. Table 9.1
lists the physical properties of H2, in comparison with methane and n-heptane, which were chosen
as representatives of natural gas and gasoline, respectively.
According to the current state of the art, five ways of storing hydrogen on-board vehicles have been
proposed: pressurised hydrogen, liquid hydrogen, storage in solids, hybrid storage systems and
regenerative off-board systems. Of the various options, the two conventional and technically most
advanced storage systems are based on the storage of pure hydrogen in pressurised or liquid form.
Both methods exhibit principal drawbacks or limitations, however, and optional methods, such as
storage in solids, in so-called hybrid systems and in the form of regenerative offboard systems, have
been proposed as alternatives and are under development at the moment. The following sections
shall outline some of the advantages, drawbacks and limitations of the various methods currently
considered as storage options in vehicles.

Hydrogen storage in stationary applications and fuel stations

Achieving a high gravimetric storage capacity is one of the greatest challenges in automotive and
mobile applications. However, for stationary applications, the Hydrogen storage 317 volumetric
storage density is the more important parameter, because weight does not necessarily play a role
and does not reduce the overall efficiency of the stationary energy system. Instead, there can be
restrictions in space that makes systems with high volumetric storage capacities more attractive.

For large-scale underground storage of gaseous hydrogen, large underground cavities are used,
similar to those for natural gas storage. Typical storage capacities for pressures of up to 50 bar (salt
caverns) range from several million to several hundred million Nm3 of hydrogen. The quantities of
energy involved have the potential to meet the needs of large communities for extended periods,
such as might be needed to ensure security of supply or to meet seasonal variations in energy
production. This gives underground storage a special importance. Two methods of underground
storage that are suitable for both hydrogen and natural gas are the use of cavities left after
the mining of salt, and the use of empty aquifers (Larsen et al., 2004).

At present, all the different storage options of hydrogen as pressurised gas, as a liquid or in a solid
storage material have been realised in various demonstration systems. For fuel stations, CGH2 and
LH2 seem to be the most attractive methods at the moment. Liquefied hydrogen offers the
opportunity for fuelling both LH2- and CGH2-driven cars and its higher density can make delivery
and transport easier when larger amounts of hydrogen are to be transported. However, as already
mentioned in Section 11.3, liquefaction is an energy-intensive process and may not be a sustainable
option on a long-term basis.
A potential future application of stationary systems is intermediate chemical storage in association
with non-continuous energy sources such as wind and solar power. Systems based on transition
metals, which are not considered for hydrogen storage in cars because of their heavy weight, may
be suitable for chemical energy storage in stationary applications. Moreover, a hydrogen storage
based on AB5 and AB2 alloys exhibits very high volumetric densities and is safe and robust. Several
systems have already been tested successfully in demonstration projects, to store hydrogen
produced from electricity, for example generated in wind parks.

Summary
On-board hydrogen storage for vehicles is challenging and may have significant
impact on hydrogen infrastructure and standards. A great deal of progress was
achieved during recent years concerning H2-propelled vehicles. Most of the development
effort concentrated on the propulsion system and its vehicle integration.
Nowadays, it is generally agreed in the automotive industry that on-board storage
of hydrogen is one of the critical bottleneck technologies for future car fleets.
The target is to store 4–5 kg of hydrogen while minimising volume, weight (gravimetric
density >5–6 wt.%), storage energy, refuelling time, costs and hydrogen on-demand release time.
Still, no approach exists to comply with the technical
requirements for a range greater than 500 km, while meeting all performance parameters,
regardless of costs. The physical limits for the storage density of compressed
and liquid hydrogen have more or less been reached, while there is still potential in
the development of solid materials for hydrogen storage (see Fig. 11.2). Storage in
solid materials may offer decisive advantages (smaller volume, low pressure and
energy input), but development is still in progress, with a number of materials under
investigation, of which metal hydrides are the most developed. The development of
on-board reformers to produce hydrogen from fossil fuels also proved to be very
challenging and expensive and is no longer a major option for car manufacturers.

As far as alternative storage systems are concerned, hybrid systems of a metal

hydride and pressurised hydrogen seem to be most promising at the moment. It is a
much safer option than the other methods, and systems of this kind can absorb or
deliver large amounts of hydrogen even at temperatures below freezing point. However,
the weight of such a system is still too high and has to be further reduced by
using optimised storage materials.