Hydrogen Storage

Refueling Station

Gassing up new family cars with green, clean hydrogen is edging closer to reality.

Case in point: Researchers at Purdue University, working with General Motors, recently tackled one of the trickier challenges to making a mass-market hydrogen car.

That is, how to fill-er-up... fast!

Hydrogen storage gets tricky. Its molecular structure -- and volatility -- require more complicated devices to transfer and store the fuel in the tank.

To address that, the Purdue prototype uses a powder called metal hydride. It absorbs hydrogen and stores enough for a 300-mile drive. Great!

But like most hydrogen storage methods, hydride creates heat as it absorbs, and too much heat stops the hydrogen absorption process. Slowing things down enough to keep the hydrogen cool would require car owners to spend an impractical 40 minutes at the pump to fill up.

So the researchers took something from conventional engines and adapted it. They designed a heat exchanger that uses everyday, automotive coolant. Their aluminum exchanger contains a network of thin fins. Coolant runs past, transferring heat away from the hydrogen, for a consumer-friendly five-minute stop at the pump!

Leaving plenty of time to grab a Slurpee.

Script by Gail Davis

Discovery Links

To learn more about today’s topic, please explore the links below:

• New storage system design brings hydrogen cars closer to reality
• Hydrogen Production and Delivery