Hydrogen Gas Savers: Hydrogen Storage/TITLE> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <meta name="description" content="A resource of Hydrogen gas saver energys. Access to the latest in hydrogen engine news, research, & technology"> <meta name="keywords" content="Hydrogen Gas Saver, Hydrogen, Gas, Savers, Gas Engine, Engine, Fuel saver, automobile, hybrid, hibryd, green, Gasoline, save money, economy, Mileage, hydrogen, fuel, diesel, MPG, miles per gallon, acetone, Protect, Friction"> <meta name="robots" content="index, follow">  <meta name="revisit-after" content="10 days"> <meta name="distribution" content="global"> <meta name="rating" content="general"> <meta name="Content-Language" CONTENT="english"> <STYLE type=text/css>.style15 { FONT-SIZE: xx-large } .style17 { COLOR: #ffffff } A:link { TEXT-DECORATION: none } A:visited { COLOR: #0066cc; TEXT-DECORATION: none } A:hover { TEXT-DECORATION: underline } A:active { TEXT-DECORATION: none } </STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#1b4b7a> <TABLE id=Table_01 style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=786 align=center border=0>  <TBODY> <TR> <TD align=middle background=../images/top.jpg colSpan=2 height=100> <H1 align=center> <DIV align=center> <FONT style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 44px; FILTER: shadow(color=black,strength=5); COLOR: white; FONT-FAMILY: arial; HEIGHT: 32px"><FONT face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Hydrogen Gas Savers</FONT></FONT> <FONT face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif"><BR> <FONT style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 16px; FILTER: Glow(color=3e6e9f,strength=5); COLOR: white; FONT-FAMILY: arial; HEIGHT: 24px">Exploring hydrogen gas saver technology</FONT></FONT> </DIV> </H1></TD> </TR> <TR bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <TD colSpan=2><div align="center"> <script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> </div></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD width="636" align=middle vAlign=top style="padding:10px;" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <div style="float: right; margin: 5px; margin-top: 0px; padding-left: 5px"><br> <script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> </div> <h1 align="left"><FONT color="#000066" size=5 face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT><FONT color="#000066" size=5 face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>Hydrogen Storage</strong></FONT></h1> <P align=left> Developing safe, reliable, compact, and cost-effective hydrogen storage technologies is one of the most technically challenging barriers to the widespread use of hydrogen as a form of energy. To be competitive with conventional vehicles, hydrogen-powered cars must be able to travel more than 300 miles between fills. This is a challenging goal because hydrogen has physical characteristics that make it difficult to store in large quantities without taking up a significant amount of space. </P> <p align="left"><FONT color="#000066" size=5 face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>Where and How Hydrogen Will Be Stored</strong></FONT></p> <p align="left"> Hydrogen storage will be required onboard vehicles and at hydrogen production sites, hydrogen refueling stations, and stationary power sites. Possible approaches to storing hydrogen include:</p> <div align="left"> <ul> <li> Physical storage of compressed hydrogen gas in high pressure tanks (up to 10,000 pounds per square inch) </li> <li> Physical storage of cryogenic liquid hydrogen (cooled to -253°C) in insulated tanks </li> <li>Storage in advanced materials — within the structure or on the surface of certain materials, as well as in the form of chemical precursors that undergo a chemical reaction to release hydrogen.</li> </ul> </div> <p align="left"><FONT color="#000066" size=4 face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>What are the Challenges?</strong></FONT></p> <p align="left"> <strong>Low Volumetric Energy Density</strong><br> Hydrogen has a very high energy content by weight (about three times more than gasoline), but it has a very low energy content by volume (about four times less than gasoline). This makes hydrogen a challenge to store, particularly within the size and weight constraints of a vehicle.</p> <p align="left"><strong>Matching Existing Vehicle Fueling Conditions</strong><br> A light-duty fuel cell vehicle must carry approximately 5-13 kilograms of hydrogen on board (depending on the size and type of the vehicle) to allow a driving range of more than 300 miles, which is generally regarded as the minimum for widespread public acceptance. Drivers must also be able to refuel at near room temperature and at a rate comparable to the rate of refueling today's gasoline vehicles.</p> <p align="left"><strong>Low-Cost Materials and Low-Cost, High-Volume Manufacturing Methods</strong><br> Using currently available storage technology, placing a sufficient quantity of hydrogen onboard a vehicle to provide a 300-mile driving range would require a very large tank — larger than the trunk of a typical automobile. Aside from the loss of cargo space, there would also be the added weight of the tank(s), which would in turn reduce fuel economy. Low-cost materials and components for hydrogen storage systems are needed, as well as low-cost, high-volume manufacturing methods for those materials and components.</p> <p align="left"><FONT color="#000066" size=4 face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>Research Directions</strong></FONT></p> <p align="left"> Reducing our dependence on foreign oil for transportation is a key driver for using hydrogen as a form of energy. Hydrogen storage research, therefore, is focused primarily on technologies and systems used onboard a vehicle. Scientists in government, industry, and academia are working to improve the weight, volume, and cost of current hydrogen storage systems, as well as to identify and develop new technologies that can achieve similar performance, at similar cost, as gasoline fuel storage systems.</p> <p align="left"><strong>Compressed Gas and Liquid Hydrogen Tanks</strong><br> Current compressed hydrogen gas tanks are much larger and heavier than what is ultimately desired for light-duty vehicles. Researchers are evaluating light-weight, safe, composite materials that can reduce the weight and volume of compressed gas storage systems.</p> <p align="left">Liquefied hydrogen is denser and has a higher energy content than gaseous hydrogen in a given volume. Liquid hydrogen tanks can store more hydrogen than compressed gas tanks, but it takes energy to liquefy hydrogen, and the tank insulation required (to prevent hydrogen loss) also affects the weight and volume of hydrogen that can be stored. Researchers are studying a hybrid tank concept that can store high-pressure hydrogen gas under cryogenic conditions (cooled to around -120 to -196°C) — these "cryo-compressed" tanks would allow relatively lighter weight, more compact storage.</p> <p align="left">Gasoline tanks used in cars and trucks today are considered conformable and take maximum advantage of available vehicle space. Researchers are evaluating concepts for conformable high-pressure hydrogen tanks as an alternative to cylindrical tanks, which do not package well in a vehicle.</p> <p align="left"><strong>Materials-Based Storage </strong><br> Hydrogen atoms or molecules bound tightly with other elements in a compound (or potential storage material) may make it possible to store larger quantities of hydrogen in smaller volumes at low pressure and near room temperature.</p> <p align="left">Scientists are investigating several different kinds of materials, including metal hydrides, carbon-based materials, and chemical hydrides, as well as identifying new materials with potential for storing hydrogen.</p> <p align="left">Hydrogen storage in materials offers great promise, but additional research is required to better understand the mechanism of hydrogen storage in materials under practical operating conditions and to overcome critical challenges related to capacity, the uptake and release of hydrogen, management of heat during refueling, cost, and life cycle impacts.</p> <P align=center><img src="../images/hydrogen-tank.jpg" width="238" height="216"></P> <p></p> <P align=center><br> The information provided on this page was obtained from U.S. Department of Energy's website Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy: <em>http://hydrogen.energy.gov/</em> </P></TD> <TD width="150" style="padding:5px;" align=middle vAlign=top bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <P align="left"><FONT color=#000066 size=3 face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>Menu:</strong></FONT><font size="1"><br> <br> </font><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="http://hydrogengassavers.com">Main Page</a></font> <P align="left"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="../glossary.htm">Hydrogen Gas Savers Glossary of Terms</a><br> <br> <a href="../contact.htm">Contact Me</a><br> <br> <a href="../links.htm">Links</a> </font> <P align=left><FONT color=#000066 size=3 face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>Hydrogen Fuel Cells:</A></strong></FONT></P> <P align=left><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="basics.htm">Hydrogen Fuel Cell Basics</a></font> <P align=left><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="production.htm">Hydrogen Production</a><br> <a href="delivery.htm"><br> Hydrogen Delivery</a><br> <br> <a href="storage.htm">Hydrogen Storage</a></font> <P align=left> <P align=left> <script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> </P> </TD> </TR> <TR bgcolor="#336699"> <TD align=middle colSpan=3 height=29> <DIV align=center><SPAN class=style17>Copyright 2008 - 2009 hydrogengassavers.com All Rights Reserved </SPAN></DIV></TD> </TR> </TBODY> </TABLE> <DIV style="MARGIN-TOP: 1em; FONT-SIZE: 0.8em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; TEXT-ALIGN: center"></DIV> <script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript"> </script> <script type="text/javascript"> _uacct = "UA-652162-9"; urchinTracker(); </script> </BODY> </HTML>