The Storage Systems Analysis Working Group, launched in March 2005, provides a forum to facilitate research and communication of hydrogen storage-related analysis activities among researchers actively engaged in hydrogen storage systems analyses. The working group includes members from DOE, the national laboratories, industry, and academia.

Description

Hydrogen storage is a key enabling technology for the advancement of hydrogen and fuel cell power technologies in transportation, stationary, and portable power applications. One of the most challenging technical barriers known is how to efficiently store hydrogen on-board a vehicle to meet customer expectations of a driving range greater than 300 miles—as well as performance, safety, and cost—without impacting passenger or cargo space. The Department of Energy's hydrogen storage activity is coordinated through the "National Hydrogen Storage Project," with multiple university, industry, and federal laboratory partners focused on research and development of on-board vehicular hydrogen storage technologies. This research also has components applicable to off-board storage of hydrogen for refueling infrastructure and the off-board regeneration of chemical hydrogen carriers applicable to hydrogen delivery.

The Storage Systems Analysis Working Group provides a forum for technical experts within the National Hydrogen Storage Project to share progress actively in technology development from a systems perspective and to determine system-level implications as research progresses. The working group helps identify areas of complementary research and leverages the expertise of its members, including the DOE Centers of Excellence as well as independent analysis projects, to achieve common objectives. The systems under consideration include physical storage (tanks/cryogenic storage), metal hydrides, chemical hydrides, and high-surface-area adsorbents such as carbon-based nanostructured materials, as well as systems that may employ hybrid approaches.

The types of analyses covered include, for example, system definition and analysis for performance and cost; design, analysis, engineering, and optimization of reactors; materials properties (e.g., available versus needed); kinetics and energetics of the hydrogen charging-discharging processes; thermal management; and life-cycle analyses, including energy efficiency, environmental impact, cradle-to-grave, life-cycle cost and emissions analyses.

The group formally meets twice a year (typically, in May and November) with monthly conference calls among sub-group members.

Technical Targets

Meetings

Contacts

Dr. Sunita Satyapal
Hydrogen Storage Team Leader
DOE Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program
Fuel Cell Technologies Office
U.S. Department of Energy, EE-2H
1000 Independence Avenue,
Washington, DC 20585-0121
Phone: 202-586-2336
Fax: 202-586-1637
E-mail: sunita.satyapal@ee.doe.gov

Dr. Romesh Kumar
Fuel Cell Department Head
Chemical Engineering Division
Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne, IL 60439
Phone: 630-252-4342
E-mail: kumar@cmt.anl.gov