The big problem with hydrogen is that storing hydrogen-containing fuel materials is difficult to do because hydrogen has very low energy content for its volume compared to traditional vehicle fuels like gasoline. Researchers working together at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of Alabama have announced a new breakthrough in the storage of hydrogen. The research teams were working together under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Chemical Hydrogen Storage Center of Excellence.

To overcome the limitation of hydrogen storage, the researchers focused their efforts on a class of material known as chemical hydrides. Hydrogen is released from these compounds making chemical hydrides a type of chemical fuel tank thanks to their storage capacity. The chemical hydride the researchers focused on was ammonia borane because of its capability to store hydrogen at 20% by weight.

The big drawback to ammonia borane is that there have been no real energy efficient ways to reintroduce hydrogen back into the spent fuel once the hydrogen was released. The researchers worked together to develop a method of recycling the ammonia borane by reintroducing hydrogen to the chemical hydride.

The team discovered that a specific type of dehydrogenated fuel called polyborazylene could be recycled in fairly easy ways with a modest energy input. This discovery is described by the researchers as a significant step in our ability to use ammonia borane as a possible energy carrier for hydrogen.

“This research represents a breakthrough in the field of hydrogen storage and has significant practical applications,” said Dr. Gene Peterson, leader of the Chemistry Division at Los Alamos. “The chemistry is new and innovative, and the research team is to be commended on this excellent achievement.”

Other researchers at different laboratories are working on the same hydrogen storage problem and are focusing on different storage methods. A team of researchers found success using self-healing metal hydrides in July.