Porous Metal Hydrides and High Entropy Alloys for Hydrogen Storage (HEAfine4H2)

Volumetric storage density

A key enabler for the widespread use of hydrogen is its cheap and easy storage. Promising candidates for solid-state hydrogen storage are metal hydrides; examples of such hydride-forming metals are FeTi, Mg, LaNi5, and high-entropy alloys. Metal hydrides exhibit high volumetric energy densities, safety, and efficiency. Despite these superior properties, many challenges, including complex activation treatments, sluggish kinetics, insufficient (mechanical and chemical) stability, and unfavorable pressure-temperature conditions for loading-unloading operations, need to be surmounted.

This project aimed to tackle the mentioned problems by prototyping porous metal hydride materials (Fig. 1). The project encompasses all required steps for achieving this - from preparation over characterization to functionalization. Nanoporous material can exhibit excellent properties such as high surface-to-volume ratio, high strength-to-weight ratio, and electrical and thermal conductivity. Heat treatment allows the tailoring of the composites and subsequent foam microstructures.

Principal investigator: Erhard Schafler

Funder: FFG 914968 joint project with Technical University of Leoben, Department of Material Science and RHP Technology GmbH Seibersdorf.

Project duration: 01.09.2024 - 30.11.2026