Sandia
researchers have spent a good deal of time in recent years examining
the viability of hydrogen storage materials through the Department of
Energy (DOE) Metal Hydride Center of Excellence (which it leads), as
well as a work for others (WFO) partnership with General Motors, and
other related materials science projects. The storage of hydrogen on
board automobiles is a challenging issue, and hydrogen storage
materials continue to be one of the more promising solutions under
consideration.
In addition to developing materials that can store sufficient
densities of hydrogen, an important area of research is the reactivity
and durability of materials. How exactly do these storage materials
behave under various conditions, including exposure to water and other
compounds? What are the best methods to produce and handle hydrogen
storage materials?
By addressing these questions now, researchers aim to ensure
that such research and development issues are exhaustively examined and
resolved for consumers prior to the commercialization and deployment of
new storage technologies. Now, thanks to a new DOE-funded project at
Sandia led by principal investigator Daniel Dedrick, the material
properties of advanced metal hydrides within the context of an
automotive fuel tank system are being quantified.