Hydrogen Storage and How It Works

Hydrogen can be stored in three ways:

• As a compressed gas in high-pressure tanks
• As a liquid in tanks
• As a solid that either absorbs or reacts with metals or chemical compounds

Hydrogen storage is a key enabling technology for the advancement of hydrogen and fuel cell power technologies in transportation, stationary, and portable applications.

For example, for hydrogen to be a competitive fuel for vehicles, the hydrogen vehicle must be able to travel distances comparable to those traveled by conventional hydrocarbon-fueled vehicles. Automotive manufacturers have set a goal for automobiles to travel 300 miles before needing to be recharged. To meet this goal, automobile manufacturers require lightweight, compact, safe, and cost-effective storage. The 300-mile driving range requires 5 to 10 kilograms of usable hydrogen, depending upon the size of the vehicle. Although various hydrogen storage technologies are currently available, none completely satisfy all the auto industry requirements. In fact, finding a solution to the hydrogen storage problem is considered by many to be the foremost challenge for the hydrogen economy across the board.

However, compressed hydrogen storage systems have already been demonstrated in hundreds of prototype fuel cell vehicles and are available commercially at low-production volumes. While physical storage has not yet met the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) targets for onboard automotive storage, many targets have been achieved with only a few key areas requiring further improvement. The DOE is currently studying hydrogen storage systems for off-board applications, such as the hydrogen delivery and refueling infrastructure, and hydrogen power parks (like gas stations, except for hydrogen refueling).

To learn more about Hydrogen Fuel Cell Safety visit our Hydrogen Fuel Cell Safety Online Training web page.