Hydrogen Storage Materials—Background and Significance

Energy is directly related to a nation’s currency. Without a doubt, it is always in high demand, but regrettably, the supply is always insufficient to match the unprecedented population growth and our altering lifestyle. Regarding energy consumption, India ranks fifth in the globe. The gap between demand and supply of commercial energy is increasing exponentially, indicating a growing reliance on oil imports from oil-rich nations. Clean coal technologies and an increasing proportion of hydro, nuclear, and renewable energies comprise India's sustainable energy path for electricity production. Alternative fuels for surface transportation are bio-fuels electric vehicles, hydrogen, and fuel cells vehicles. Decades of dedicated R&D have revealed that hydrogen is an ideal candidate as a clean energy carrier for both transportation and stationary applications in the quest for alternative fuels. The difficulty of storing and transporting hydrogen proficiently and cost-effectively is one of the most significant obstacles to its use as a fuel. Its use at a suitable location necessitates storage, a crucial aspect of the overall hydrogen energy concept. Both high-pressure gaseous (heavy weight and dangerous mode) and liquid (expensive cryogenics, thermal, and ortho-para conversion losses) form of storage are impractical. The chemical storage of hydrogen in the form of metal hydrides is an attractive alternative that is the subject of intensive international R&D efforts. In India, a number of significant hydrogen energy programmes are being conducted by a variety of institutes. Special efforts have been made to develop novel storage materials that are reversible, inexpensive, and simple to mass produce. Our group has made significant advancements in the field of hydrogen storage materials. Various prospective nanotechnology avenues for reducing the temperature at which hydrogen desorbs and improving the reversibility of future hydrogen storage materials are outlined. Learning objectives: