New Compound To Store Hydrogen Energy Developed in Japan; Carrier Material Effective, Low-Cost

Hydrogen can fuel cells to produce electricity and deliver energy produced from other sources. A new study discovered a new hydrogen carrier that is efficient and affordable.

New Hydrogen Carrier Discovered

Japanese researchers developed a novel polymer that can store hydrogen energy more cheaply and efficiently. Even at room temperature, the new hydrogen energy carrier can retain the energy for up to three months. Additionally, because the substance is nickel-based, it is relatively inexpensive.

The research team's leader, Professor Seiji Ogo of Kyushu University's International Institute for Carbon-Neutral Energy Research, said they have been working on developing new materials that can store and transport hydrogen energy. In its gaseous condition, it takes a lot of energy to transport. The hydrogen atoms might be "split-up" into their fundamental particles, electrons and protons, as an alternative to current methods of storage and transportation.

They decided to seek guidance from nature. According to Ogo, a class of enzymes known as hydrogenases are capable of catalyzing the conversion of hydrogen into protons and electrons and storing the energy for usage at ambient temperature or later. Their group was able to create a substance that accomplishes precisely that by researching these enzymes.

Subsequent research revealed that this novel chemical, which can extract and store electrons at ambient temperature, can also act as its own catalyst - something that was not achievable with earlier hydrogen energy carriers. Additionally, the group demonstrated that energy could be held for up to three months.

Comparable catalysts have been based on pricy metals such as iridium, rhodium, or platinum, but the recently discovered carrier uses nickel to store hydrogen energy, which is a cheap element.

Ogo and his colleagues look forward to improving the storage time and efficiency. They also consider the viability of cheaper metals for such compounds. The team hoped that their research would contribute to decarbonization, in support of our venture for a greener and more sustainable future.

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Switzerland's Artificial Tree Stores Solar Energy Into Hydrogen

In April, Switzerland developed a satellite dish dubbed "artificial tree." The device doesn't resemble a tree but has a 23-foot wide structure at the école Polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). Sophia Haussener, head of the Laboratory of Renewable Energy Science and Engineering at the School of Engineering at EPFL, noted that the device is just a box with an aperture through which concentrated solar radiation enters and it directly stores solar energy into hydrogen.

The reactor's surface converts about 20% of the solar energy it receives into hydrogen. It might not sound like much, but it is more than plants, which use about 6% of their energy intake for food. This is still a small system, but it may be made larger by adding more parallel solar dishes and somewhat larger solar concentrators.

Additionally, the method generates heat and a form of energy called hydrogen. According to Haussener, the system efficiency rises to 45 percent when heat generation is also considered.