A brief analysis on the development of efficient hydrogen storage technology for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles

　　A brief analysis on the development of efficient hydrogen storage technology for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles

　　The development of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles does require efficient hydrogen storage technology, because this is a must for the convenient use of hydrogen energy.

　　There are two traditional hydrogen storage methods. One method is to use high-pressure cylinders (hydrogen cylinders) to store hydrogen, but the hydrogen storage capacity of cylinders is small and there is a risk of explosion. The other method is to store liquid hydrogen, but liquid storage The boxes are very large and require excellent insulation to insulate them. In recent years, a new and simple hydrogen storage method has emerged, which is to use hydrogen storage alloys (metal hydrides) to store hydrogen.

　　Research has proven that under certain temperature and pressure conditions, some metals can "absorb" a large amount of hydrogen, react to form metal hydrides, and release heat at the same time. Later, when these metal hydrides are heated, they decompose, releasing the hydrogen stored in them. These metals that "absorb" hydrogen are called hydrogen storage alloys. Its hydrogen storage capacity is very strong. The density of hydrogen stored per unit volume is 1,000 times that of gaseous hydrogen under the same temperature and pressure conditions, which is equivalent to storing high-pressure hydrogen of 1,000 atmospheres. Hydrogen storage alloys are all solid. When hydrogen is needed, the hydrogen stored in them is released by heating or decompressing it. Therefore, it is an ideal hydrogen storage method that is extremely simple and easy to implement. The hydrogen storage alloys currently under research and development mainly include titanium-based hydrogen storage alloys, zirconium-based hydrogen storage alloys, iron-based hydrogen storage alloys and rare earth-based hydrogen storage alloys.

　　Hydrogen storage alloys also have the energy conversion function of converting chemical energy in the hydrogen storage process into mechanical energy or thermal energy. Hydrogen storage alloys release heat when absorbing hydrogen and absorb heat when releasing hydrogen. This heat release-endotherm cycle can be used to store and transmit heat to create refrigeration or heating equipment. In addition, it can be used to purify and recover hydrogen. It can purify hydrogen to a very high purity. For example, using hydrogen storage alloys, ultrapure hydrogen with a purity higher than 99.9999% can be obtained at a very low cost.

　　The rapid development of hydrogen storage alloys has opened up a broad path for the utilization of hydrogen. At present, China has successfully developed a hydrogen energy vehicle, which uses 90 kilograms of hydrogen storage material, can travel 40 kilometers, and reaches a speed of more than 50 kilometers per hour. In the future, not only cars will use fuel cells, but also aircraft, ships, spacecraft and other vehicles will use fuel cells as their main or auxiliary energy source. In addition, because the cadmium in the widely used nickel-cadmium batteries (Ni-Cd) is toxic, the disposal of waste batteries is complicated and the environment is polluted. Compared with nickel-cadmium batteries, nickel-metal hydride batteries have the advantages of large capacity, safety, non-toxicity and long service life. The development of nickel-metal hydride batteries (Ni-MH) made of hydrogen storage alloys is also another important area for future hydrogen storage material applications.

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