National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Research

Hydrogen Storage

Storing hydrogen for renewable energy technologies can be challenging, especially for technologies such as solar and wind that lack constant energy sources. Whether for stationary, portable, or transportation applications, cost-effective, high-density energy storage is necessary to enable the technologies that can change the future of energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Hydrogen can play an important role in transforming this energy future if hydrogen storage technologies are improved.

NREL works with DOE to design and improve hydrogen storage by focusing on comprehensive storage solutions, not just materials. In addition to determining appropriate properties of promising materials for hydrogen storage, NREL’s efforts involve detailed analyses of storage system configuration, interface requirements, and well-to-wheel analyses.

NREL also has integral roles in hydrogen-based energy solutions such as leading DOE’s Hydrogen Sorption Center of Excellence and providing technical input for DOE’s Hydrogen Storage Engineering Center of Excellence, led by Savannah River National Laboratories.

Hydrogen Sorption Center of Excellence

As lead of the DOE Hydrogen Sorption Center of Excellence, NREL works with partner institutions around the world to develop new sorption-based materials with substantially enhanced hydrogen storage properties. This work includes designing and synthesizing high-specific-surface-area materials where hydrogen can be accessed easily and stored on sorption sites optimized to hold and release hydrogen with minimal energy.

Presentations and Publications

Some of the following documents are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs. Download Adobe Reader.

• Overview of the DOE Hydrogen Sorption Center of Excellence (PDF 2 MB). A. Dillion and L. Simpson. Presented at the 2009 U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen Program and Vehicle Technologies Program Annual Merit Review and Peer Evaluation Meeting. (May 2009)
• NREL Research as Part of the Hydrogen Sorption Center of Excellence (PDF 4.7 MB). Presented at the 2009 U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen Program and Vehicle Technologies Program Annual Merit Review and Peer Evaluation Meeting. (May 2009)
• Ab Initio Calculations Predicting the Existence of an Oxidized Calcium Dihydrogen Complex to Store Molecular Hydrogen in Densities up to 100 g/L (PDF 242 KB). Y.-H. Kim, Y.Y. Sun, and S.B. Zhang. Applied Physics Letters. Vol. 95(3), B 79, 115424. (2009)
• Hydrogen Storage in Novel Organometallic Buckyballs (PDF 954 KB). Y.Zhao, Y.-H. Kim, A.C. Dillon, M.J. Heben, and S.B. Zhang.  Physical Review Letters. Vol. 94(15), PRL 94, 155504. (2005)

Contact: Lin Simpson 303-384-6625