Nanotechnology could improve how hydrogen fuel is stored

The potential of hydrogen as a fuel source in vehicles such as cars and aircraft is widely accepted, but storing it has proved problematic.

The team at Glasgow is working with several other universities and EADS Innovation Works in order to find a better solution than hydrogen gas or liquid hydrogen.

Prof Duncan Gregory, head of the Glasgow University research group looking at hydrogen storage and sustainable energy materials, told The Engineer: ‘Hydrogen gas isn’t particularly safe and it occupies a large volume.

‘If you use liquid then it takes up a smaller volume but you have to use a lot of energy to get it cold enough and compressed enough to be stored.

‘If one can store hydrogen in a solid then potentially you can store the same sort of mass, at a much smaller volume, and it will be far safer.’

Storing hydrogen as a solid involves binding the hydrogen atoms to another substance that would act like a sponge, soaking it up. The hydrogen is then stored until it is needed.