Honda FCX platform rear Honda Collection Hall

A hydrogen tank (other names- cartridge or canister) is used for

hydrogen storage Hydrogen storage can be accomplished by several existing methods of holding hydrogen for later use. These include mechanical approaches such as using high pressures and low temperatures, or employing chemical compounds that release H2 upon demand ...

. The first type IV hydrogen tanks for compressed hydrogen at were demonstrated in 2001, the first

fuel cell vehicle A fuel cell vehicle (FCV) or fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) is an electric vehicle that uses a fuel cell, sometimes in combination with a small battery or supercapacitor, to power its onboard electric motor. Fuel cells in vehicles generate elec ...

s on the road with type IV tanks are the Toyota FCHV, Mercedes-Benz F-Cell and the

GM HydroGen4 HydroGen4 is the successor of the fuel cell vehicle HydroGen3, developed by General Motors/Opel and presented in 2007 at the IAA in Frankfurt, Germany. It is expected that automotive hydrogen technology, such as the type featured in the HydroGen4, ...

Low-pressure tanks

Various applications have allowed the development of different H2 storage scenarios. Recently, the Hy-Can consortium has introduced a small one liter, format. Horizon Fuel Cells is now selling a refillable metal hydride form factor for consumer use called HydroStik.

Type I

* Metal tank (steel/aluminum) * Approximate maximum pressures: aluminum , steel .

Type II

* Aluminum tank with filament windings such as

glass fiber Glass fiber ( or glass fibre) is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass. Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the inventi ...

aramid Aramid fibers, short for aromatic polyamide, are a class of heat-resistant and strong synthetic fibers. They are used in aerospace and military applications, for ballistic-rated body armor fabric and ballistic composites, in marine cordage, mar ...

carbon fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

around the metal cylinder. See composite overwrapped pressure vessel. * Approximate maximum pressures: aluminum/glass , steel/carbon or aramide .

Type III

* Tanks made from composite material,

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cl ...

with a metal liner (aluminum or steel). See metal matrix composite. * Approximate maximum pressures: aluminum/glass , aluminum/aramid , aluminium/carbon .

Type IV

* Composite tanks such of carbon fiber with a polymer liner (

thermoplastic A thermoplastic, or thermosoft plastic, is any plastic polymer material that becomes pliable or moldable at a certain elevated temperature and solidifies upon cooling. Most thermoplastics have a high molecular weight. The polymer chains associat ...

). See

rotational molding Rotational molding (BrE: moulding) involves a heated mold which is filled with a charge or shot weight of material. It is then slowly rotated (usually around two perpendicular axes), causing the softened material to disperse and stick to the ...

and

fibre-reinforced plastic Fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP; also called fibre-reinforced polymer, or in American English ''fiber'') is a composite material made of a polymer matrix reinforced with fibres. The fibres are usually glass fibre, glass (in fibreglass), Carbon fib ...

. * Approximate maximum pressure: .

Type V

* All-composite, linerless tank. Composites Technology Development (Colorado, USA) built a prototype tank for a satellite application in 2010 although it had an operating pressure of only 200 psi and was used to store argon. * Approximate maximum pressure: .

Tank testing and safety considerations

In accordance with ISO/TS 15869 (revised): * Burst test: the pressure at which the tank bursts, typically more than 2× the working pressure. * Proof pressure: the pressure at which the test will be executed, typically above the working pressure. * Leak test or permeation test, in NmL/hr/L (Normal liter of H2/time in hr/volume of the tank.) * Fatigue test, typically several thousand cycles of charging/emptying. * Bonfire test where the tank is exposed to an open fire. * Bullet test where live ammunition is fired at the tank. This specification was replaced by ISO 13985:2006 and only applies to liquid hydrogen tanks. Actual Standard EC 79/2009 * U.S Department of Energy maintains a hydrogen safety best practices site with a lot of information about tanks and piping. They dryly observe "Hydrogen is a very small molecule with low viscosity, and therefore prone to leakage.".

Metal hydride storage tank

Magnesium hydride

Using magnesium for

, a safe but weighty reversible storage technology. Typically the pressure requirement are limited to . The charging process generates heat whereas the discharge process will require some heat to release the H2 contained in the storage material. To activate these types of hydrides, at the current state of development you need to reach approximately .

Other hydrides

Research

* 2008 - Japan, a clay-based film sandwiched between prepregs of CFRP.Development of a Clay-Plastic Composite Material with Good Hydrogen Gas Barrier Property

References

External links

Hydrogen Composite Tank Program
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hydrogen Tank Hydrogen storage Pressure vessels fr:Stockage d'hydrogène