Honda FCX platform rear Honda Collection Hall

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

s on the road with type IV tanks are the

Toyota FCHV The Toyota FCHV is a current hybrid hydrogen fuel cell vehicle development programme of the Toyota Motor Corporation, which was leased to a limited number of drivers in the United States and Japan beginning in 2002. "FCHV" stands for "Fuel Ce ...

, Mercedes-Benz F-Cell and the GM 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 inventio ...

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, ma ...

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 A composite overwrapped pressure vessel (COPV) is a vessel consisting of a thin, non-structural liner wrapped with a structural fiber composite, designed to hold a fluid under pressure. The liner provides a barrier between the fluid and the compo ...

. * Approximate maximum pressures: aluminum/glass , steel/carbon or aramide .

Type III

* Tanks made from

composite Composite or compositing may refer to: Materials * Composite material, a material that is made from several different substances ** Metal matrix composite, composed of metal and other parts ** Cermet, a composite of ceramic and metallic materials ...

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 clo ...

with a metal liner (aluminum or steel). See

metal matrix composite In materials science, a metal matrix composite (MMC) is a composite material with fibers or particles dispersed in a metallic matrix, such as copper, aluminum, or steel. The secondary phase is typically a ceramic (such as alumina or silicon carb ...

. * 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 associate ...

). 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. * 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 hydrogen storage, 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