French company claims it has 'game-changing' hydrogen storage tank
Tue 20 April 2010
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A French company says it has developed a commercial-scale prototype of a solid-state hydrogen storage tank which it says can help overcome storage issues associated with the energy source. The system, claims McPhy Energy is a 'game-changing technology' as it can store hydrogen at low pressure in a short space of time.
The company has announced the signature of a research contract with CEA Liten, the French Laboratory of Innovation for New Energy, to test two storage tanks. The first 1kg tank was delivered last month and will be followed by a larger 15kg storage tank, due to be delivered in the second half of the year.
McPhy says that the tank can be connected to a hydrogen production system powered using electricity from a wind farm or solar power plant to be stored. Once stored, the hydrogen could either be converted back to electricity using a fuel cell, or to supply the fuel for other - including automotive - uses.
McPhy says that the modular design of the storage systems will allow for loading and unloading of hydrogen with almost no energy losses.
The partners will now begin testing the storage units on an industrial scale for the first time by storing electricity from an electrolyser and a fuel cell as a simulation of renewable energy sources. Commercial production of the tanks is planned to start this summer.
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