Researchers at the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials developed solid hydrogen storage technology that can safely transport hydrogen even in low-pressure conditions.
The joint research team led by senior researchers Park Hyung-ki and Na Tae-wook from the Functional Materials and Components Group of the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials announced on the 23rd that they have successfully developed a source composition system for hydrogen storage alloys and manufactured solid hydrogen storage modules using the developed materials.
Hydrogen has a low energy density, and its efficiency decreases when transported in a gaseous state, requiring it to be compressed under high pressure and transported by tube trailer. However, the amount of hydrogen that can be transported using high-pressure hydrogen methods is limited, and safety issues may arise, necessitating efficient storage technology. While solid hydrogen storage technology has the advantage of high volumetric storage density at lower pressures compared to high-pressure hydrogen, alloy composition design and adsorption/desorption performance optimization technologies are still insufficient.
The research team at the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials developed platform technology for precisely controlling the hydrogen absorption and desorption pressure of hydrogen storage alloys according to their applications, allowing for optimal alloy composition design. Hydrogen storage alloys are materials that can absorb hydrogen and store it in solid form, capable of storing approximately 50 kg of hydrogen per cubic meter according to system standards.
The alloy developed by the research team was able to store hydrogen at room temperature without additional compression or cooling even at low pressures below 10 atmospheres. The research team conducted a demonstration of this technology in collaboration with Hydrochem, successfully creating a solid hydrogen storage module that contained 300 kg of hydrogen storage alloy.
Senior researcher Park Hyung-ki, who led the study, noted that "we are working on follow-up research to scale up solid hydrogen storage modules in collaboration with Hydrochem" and that "we plan to develop core technology to safely store large amounts of hydrogen in urban areas and power plants."