Researchers say they have a found a new, efficient way to store large amounts of hydrogen in solid form.

The method—known as ‘ball milling’—sees the gas combined with boron nitride powder in a spinning chamber. Once absorbed into this material, the gas can be transported safely and easily.

The absorbed gases can then be recovered via a simple heating process, leaving both the gases and the powder unchanged and allowing for immediate re-use.

The results of the research—carried out at Australia’s Deakin University’s Institute for Frontier Materials (IFM)—have been published in the peer-reviewed journal Materials Today.

“We need to further validate this method with industry to develop a practical application” Chen, IFM

“This scalable mechanochemical process has great potential as an industrial separation method and can realise substantial energy savings,” the academics write in the abstract to the study.

The IFM team have tested the process on only a small scale so far, separating about 2-3l of material. But they hope to scale the research up to a full pilot with industry support.

"We need to further validate this method with industry to develop a practical application," says Ying Chen, the institute’s chair of nanotechnology.

The breakthrough is the culmination of three decades of work led by Chen and his team. They have submitted a provisional patent application for their process.

Currently the best options for hydrogen storage are in high-pressure tanks or by cooling the gas down to liquid form—both of which require large amounts of energy.

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Author: Tom Young