8 Hydrogen

8.1 Nanocell fueltanks

Ohnsman

H2MOF thinks nanomaterials designed to pull in and hold hydrogen at low pressure, like a sponge absorbing water, are a cheaper, more efficient way to store and move the fuel.

Hydrogen is a promising form of carbon-free energy, but moving and storing the superlight element is costly and energy-intensive. So a California startup cofounded in 2022 by two leading chemists, including a Nobel laureate, is designing a new type of tank made with nanomaterials that aims to be cheaper and safer than any currently in use — and hold more hydrogen, too.

Rather than pumping highly compressed or liquified hydrogen into a conventional tank, H2MOF is designing one that holds the energy-rich fuel in a solid state, adsorbing it into specially engineered nanomaterials. The approach is based on research by two of its cofounders and scientific advisors: Omar Yaghi, a chemistry professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and professor Sir Fraser Stoddart, winner of the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2016. It requires us to go deep into the problem and design new materials with atomic precision to come up with the right solution because traditional techniques are not going to work.

The company hopes to be the first to commercialize metal-organic framework, or MOF, materials designed at the atomic level for hydrogen storage but isn’t alone in pursuing the technology. Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory recently published research on an aluminum-based MOF they’ve created to hold hydrogen, according to Science. (MOF, invented by cofounder Yaghi, is also the inspiration for the startup’s name, a mashup referencing the acronym and hydrogen.)

Think of it as a novel combination of organic materials with some metal atoms A crystal structure at the nanoscale — at extremely small scale.

Unlike carbon fiber-wrapped tanks used in Toyota’s Mirai fuel cell sedan that hold hydrogen at 10,000 pounds per square inch — the level of pressure that “jaws of life” tools use to cut through car doors — H2MOF intends to pressure its tank at less than 300 pounds per square inch.

Storing more fuel at lower pressure means much less cost. Taha estimates that switching from high-pressure tanks to its technology could save $12,000 annually in energy expenses to operate a fuel cell transit bus. H2MOF’s technology could potentially double its 350-mile range per fueling by packing in more hydrogen without adding weight.

Right now, hydrogen is pumped through pipelines in Texas and California, but they have to be made of materials that can withstand embrittlement and cracking that “slippery” hydrogen causes. Liquifying it is an easier way to transport the fuel, but is even more energy-intensive than storing it under high pressure.

Ohnsman (2023) This Startup Hopes Its Nanomaterial Fuel Tanks Will Jumpstart The Hydrogen Revolution