Hydrogen Storage, Distribution and Cleaning

Rising greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is a major cause of concern today. The primary source of energy all over the globe is fossil fuels, a non-renewable source of energy that is expected to get exhausted in the next 60-100 years. Damage to environment cannot be easily reversed but the initial steps are to reduce the damage done. Other alternative cleaner sources of energy are being looked into as viable options to replace fossil fuels. The objective of this study is to identify options for using hydrogen as an energy carrier in the future with a major focus on the transportation sector. This project is limited to theoretical study looking into the options for hydrogen storage and distribution. Gaseous and liquid hydrogen storage have been looked in to thoroughly and are far from meeting Department of Energy, USA, (DOE) ultimate targets for automobile fleets, hence a shift to other storage options is imminent. Metal hydride storage is believed to be the upcoming technology as the mid-term solution to storage issues and hence is given a lot of attention in this project. On-board storage in metal hydrides is studied and it can be concluded that no metal hydride known to us today is capable of satisfying the DOE ultimate targets. Finally, the study ends with options accessible to AGA to purchase hydrogen within Sweden and how they can be cleaned to meet the fuel cell gas purity requirements.