The Hydrogen Materials Advanced Research Consortium (HyMARC), composed of Sandia National Laboratories, National Laboratory of the Rockies, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, along with user facilities SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and National Institute of Standards and Technology, was formed with the objective of addressing the scientific gaps blocking the advancement of solid-state storage materials.
HyMARC research activities focused on the thermodynamic and kinetic limitations of storage materials, including mass transport, surface chemistry, and processes at solid-solid interfaces. HyMARC was part of the Energy Materials Network, which aimed to solve industry’s toughest challenges through an innovative approach to materials research and development.
HyMARC employed large-scale parallel computing resources, innovative synthetic approaches, and high-resolution in-situ characterization tools available at the core laboratories to develop new capabilities to accelerate development of storage materials that meet DOE targets. These capabilities were made available to the hydrogen storage research community through joint projects and collaborations. Examples include:
- Multi-physics software, methods, and models optimized for high-throughput material screening
- An extensible database framework for measured and computed material properties
- Protocols for synthesizing storage materials in bulk and nanoscale formats
- Ultra-high-pressure synthesis and characterization facilities (≥700 bar)
- Characterization methods tailored for hydrogen storage and facile use of advanced X-ray probes.