Powerpaste is a

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ta ...

- and

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic ...

-based fluid gel that releases hydrogen when it reacts with

water Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...

. It was invented,

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

ed and is being developed by Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials (IFAM) of the

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft The Fraunhofer Society (german: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V., lit=Fraunhofer Society for the Advancement of Applied Research) is a German research organization with 76institutes spread throughout Germany ...

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Powerpaste is made by combining magnesium

powder A powder is a dry, bulk solid composed of many very fine particles that may flow freely when shaken or tilted. Powders are a special sub-class of granular materials, although the terms ''powder'' and '' granular'' are sometimes used to distin ...

with hydrogen in a process conducted at and five to six times

atmospheric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibars, ...

to form magnesium hydride. An

ester In chemistry, an ester is a compound derived from an oxoacid (organic or inorganic) in which at least one hydroxyl group () is replaced by an alkoxy group (), as in the substitution reaction of a carboxylic acid and an alcohol. Glycerides a ...

and a metal salt are then added to make the finished Powerpaste. When Powerpaste reacts with water it produces hydrogen in a predictable manner for use in fuel cells. The

molecular formula In chemistry, a chemical formula is a way of presenting information about the chemical proportions of atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound or molecule, using chemical element symbols, numbers, and sometimes also other symbols, ...

of magnesium hydride reacting with water is MgH₂ + 2H₂O → 2H₂ + Mg(OH)₂, so half of the produced hydrogen comes from the Powerpaste and half from the water.

Magnesium hydroxide Magnesium hydroxide is the inorganic compound with the chemical formula Mg(OH)2. It occurs in nature as the mineral brucite. It is a white solid with low solubility in water (). Magnesium hydroxide is a common component of antacids, such as milk ...

(Mg(OH)₂) is a residue by-product created by this process. Fraunhofer claims that Powerpaste is able to store hydrogen energy at 10 times the energy density of a lithium battery of a similar dimension and substantially more than

compressed hydrogen Compressed hydrogen (CH2, CGH2 or CGH2) is the gaseous state of the element hydrogen kept under pressure. Compressed hydrogen in hydrogen tanks at 350 bar (5,000 psi) and 700 bar (10,000 psi) is used for mobile hydrogen storage in hydrogen vehic ...

at 700 bar and is safe and convenient for automotive situations. Fraunhofer states that they are building a production plant slated to start production in 2021, which will produce 4 tons of Powerpaste annually. Fraunhofer has patented their invention in the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and EU.

External links

Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM website

References

Fuels Hydrogen technologies Hydrogen economy Hydrogen storage Hydrogen Magnesium Fraunhofer Society {{Energy-stub

See also

External links

References