University of New Brunswick makes a breakthrough–solid Hydrogen
Yes I know you can make solid hydrogen by getting it cold enough. That’s not really effective for a lot of applications is it? Takes a lot of pressure to make it happen. Anyway, some smart cookies at UNB Fredericton have figured out how to make a stable form of solid hydrogen that can be tapped into whenever you need a little H2 gas:
Researchers at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton have made a breakthrough in hydrogen storage. They have successfully condensed hydrogen gas into a usable solid under mild conditions.
“The challenge is to find a safer, more efficient and economical way to store hydrogen so that it can be released on demand,” explained chemist Sean McGrady, the lead researcher on the project. “The way to do this is to turn hydrogen into a compound — a solid — so you can use it when you want, safely, in the amount you want.”
Source: Hydrogen Storage: UNBF Researchers Achieve Technology Breakthrough — March 7, 2007 – News@UNB
Not a big deal? Oh how wrong you are! Look one of the big problems with H2 powered cars is storing the stuff. Hydrogen gas needs to be kept under high pressure. Not only that, it has this nasty habit of exploding with the slightest spark. Put these two together and you have a lot of space and weight spend just on keeping your fuel available and not exploding. With this solid hydrogen looks like problem solved. No word on when it would be commercially available, but this could be one of the series of breakthroughs we’ve been waiting for.
Also: Wired
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Put these two together and you have a lot of space and weight spend just on keeping your fuel available and not exploding.