A team from the universities of Newcastle upon Tyne and Liverpool has discovered a safe way of storing and releasing hydrogen to produce energy.
The researchers have found a way to inject the gas at high pressure into tiny pores – of 10 to the minus nine metres in size – in specially designed materials to give a dense form of hydrogen. The pressure is then reduced in the material to store the captured hydrogen safely. Heat can then be applied to release the hydrogen as energy.
Professor Mark Thomas, of Newcastle University’s Northern Carbon Research Laboratories in the School of Natural Sciences, is a member of the research team. “This is a proof of principle that we can trap hydrogen gas in a porous material and release it when required,” he said.
“However, if developed further, this method would have the potential to be applied to powering cars or any generator supplying power. Although hydrogen-powered cars are likely to be decades away, our discovery brings this concept a step towards becoming reality.”
