Hydrogen storage solutions for vehicles: a key to the future of sustainable transport

Hydrogen is a gas at normal temperatures, but it can be made to react with air in a combustion reaction that generates energy. That is why we can use it as fuel. Also, hydrogen can be produced from many sources and is already not overly expensive to produce. Pair that with more innovation and a higher demand, and prices are expected to decrease, while efficiency and implementation increase. 

Hydrogen can be obtained from several sources and through multiple processes 

Hydrogen is usually stored in fuel cells for its use as a fuel. And here is where one of the major issues comes in. Unlike gasoline, hydrogen is a gas, not a liquid. And because of that, it takes up a lot of space. In fact, in 100 litres of volume, we could fit around 9 grams of hydrogen gas at atmospheric pressure. Yes, only 9 grams.  

Hydrogen is quite an efficient fuel. It produces more energy per kg than gasoline, about 2.5 times (although how well this energy is utilised is a different factor). But, as you might imagine, 9 grams is too little to move a car. So, to fit more hydrogen per volume, we must either cool it down a lot or pressurise it a lot. 

This may not be a huge issue for large industrial operations that can both afford more space for hydrogen storage and already work with other gases, such as natural gas. But for vehicles and other small-scale industries, like households, perhaps, hydrogen needs to be compressed a lot to be a viable fuel. 

How to make hydrogen fuel viable for vehicles and transportation 

If you are up to date with current developments in car manufacture, you might know that hydrogen cars are already available and on the market. Brands like Toyota or Honda have developed engines and fuel cells for hydrogen and sell cars that run on this fuel. But they require massive compression, storing hydrogen at 700 times the atmospheric pressure or more. That is not easy, nor the safest option. And although the materials are durable, the cars fit around 5 kg of hydrogen at most, in large and heavy compartments. 

So, how do we improve? The answer lies in materials. We need to make fuel cells able to withstand pressure, lower temperatures, and absorb more hydrogen. And all this while being as light as possible, and very safe and resistant.  

The MAST3RBoost approach: hydrogen storage with lower pressures, more safety and capacity 

MAST3RBoost is one of many projects at the forefront of material innovation for hydrogen storage. There are several ways to do this, but we bet on a new type of hydrogen tank to store the fuel. Here are the key characteristics we want our fuel tank to have, and how we are innovating to create them. 

• Lower pressure and colder temperatures. We need to pressurise the fuel cells, but we want to reduce the total pressure for safety. For that, we need to cool the hydrogen. Because of this, we are developing materials that can withstand pressure and low temperatures. 

• Lightweight and resistant material. The hydrogen tanks cannot weigh so much that they hinder vehicle speeds. Of course, they need to be strong in case of accidents. We make sure the materials we use to build them pass strict tests when it comes to both parameters. 
• Hydrogen-binding material inside. To answer the question of hydrogen storage capacity, we looked at new materials. Specifically at metal-organic frameworks. These materials are porous and can hold gas molecules, reducing the volume the gas takes. Then, they can release them when needed to burn as fuel. MAST3RBoost is using machine learning and state-of-the-art technology to make and improve the materials that will store hydrogen in the future.

Looking ahead: the future of hydrogen-powered vehicles 

The current demand for sustainable and cleaner vehicles cannot be met by the electric car industry alone. Hydrogen is not yet competitive with gas and electricity, but the pace of innovation is only increasing.  

Sustainable sources for hydrogen production are on the rise, and hydrogen-powered vehicles are the next step in transitioning the transportation industry towards sustainability.  

MAST3RBoost is hard at work to fix a critical problem to achieve that goal: a safer, smaller, and lighter hydrogen-storage tank, with a higher capacity. While other projects and innovations will have to come together with MAST3RBoost’s efforts to decarbonise transportation, we look forward to joining forces for a greener future. 

Author: Darío Sánchez