(256a) Solid-State Hydrogen Storage System Development and Engineering Analysis

The development of a viable hydrogen storage system is one of the key challenges that must be met prior to the establishment of a true hydrogen economy. Current hydrogen storage options, such as compressed gas and liquid hydrogen, fall short of meeting vehicle manufacturers' goals for safe and efficient energy storage. The most viable long-term alternative to these options is solid-state storage, which has been proven both safe and efficient. The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), with over 50 years of hydrogen storage expertise and over 25 years of expertise in solid-state storage, is working with the Department of Energy's Hydrogen Storage Center of Excellence in Metal Hydrides to help solve this key challenge.

A considerable amount of the Center's current efforts involve research to develop new high capacity hydrogen storage materials. However the overall objective of the Center is to deliver a 1 kg of hydrogen prototype vessel that meets the 2010 U.S. DOE FreedomCAR targets, which includes 6wt% hydrogen in the system. To meet this challenging target, will not only require the development of a new light weight hydrogen storage material but also, will require similar breakthroughs in vessel and system design, engineering and fabrication technology. SRNL is leading this systems engineering and analysis activity for the DOE Metal Hydride Center of Excellence. The SRNL team is comprised of distinguished scientists and engineers from national laboratories, leading universities, and major corporate research centers that have extensive experience in solid-state hydrogen storage systems as well as supporting expertise in heat transfer, systems modeling and component and systems development and manufacturing.

This paper will describe the current hydrogen storage systems engineering challenges and also review the approach that the SRNL-led team will follow to help solve these challenges.