Hydrogen Storage Technology Development to Aid Energy Resilience
The Berkeley Lab-led study assesses cost competitiveness of metal-organic framework materials to store hydrogen for large-scale backup power applications.
Edited by Margo Ellis
Share
With the rise in renewable energy as well as increasing uncertainty associated with outages due to power surges and extreme weather events, energy storage plays a key role in ensuring reliable power supply to critical infrastructure such as healthcare facilities, data centers, and telecommunications. Hydrogen shows promise as an energy storage solution, and researchers are developing materials that can help store hydrogen for long durations at low cost and high energy efficiency.
A team of researchers led by Berkeley Lab along with support from the Department of Energy’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office, have examined backup power systems based on sponge-like materials called metal-organic frameworks, or MOFs, and found that with further research and development, they could be cost-competitive with other energy storage technologies for backup power. MOFs are porous crystal materials made of metal ions, where large pores within the crystals can store hydrogen gas. As part of DOE’s Hydrogen Materials Advanced Research Consortium (HyMARC), and working with researchers from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and UC Berkeley, the team used techno-economic analysis and process modeling to analyze system performance. Their study is published in Nature Energy.
RELATED CONTENT
-
The Biggest Valves: Sizes Growing in Step with Greater Demand
Valve manufacturers that have the expertise, skills, equipment and facilities to produce large valves are rare.
-
Testing of Hydrogen Valves
Valves are used to control all types of fluids, and while some are easy to manage, others can be a challenge. At the top of the challenging list sits hydrogen, the smallest, lightest molecule known to man.
-
New Requirements for Actuator Sizing
After decades of confusion, the American Water Works Association has created new standards for actuator sizing that clear up some of the confusion and also provide guidance on where safety factors need to be applied.
 Unloading large gate valve.jpg;maxWidth=214)