Immediately this press release dropped into the news group here at work, I = thought of this thread. ******************** Tuesday 22 May A new breakthrough in hydrogen storage technology could remove a key barrie= r = to widespread uptake of non-polluting cars that produce no carbon dioxide = emissions. UK scientists have developed a compound of the element lithium which may = make it practical to store enough hydrogen on-board fuel-cell-powered cars = to enable them to drive over 300 miles before refuelling. Achieving this = driving range is considered essential if a mass market for fuel cell cars i= s = to develop in future years, but has not been possible using current hydroge= n = storage technologies. The breakthrough has been achieved by a team from the Universities of = Birmingham and Oxford and the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire= , = under the auspices of the UK Sustainable Hydrogen Energy Consortium = (UK-SHEC). UK-SHEC is funded by the SUPERGEN (Sustainable Power Generation = and Supply) initiative managed and led by the Engineering and Physical = Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Fuel cells produce carbon-free electricity by harnessing electrochemical = reactions between hydrogen and oxygen. However, today's prototype and = demonstration fuel-cell-powered cars only have a range of around 200 miles. = To achieve a 300 mile driving range, an on-board space the size of a = double-decker bus would be needed to store hydrogen gas at standard = temperature and pressure, while storing it as a compressed gas in cylinders = or as a liquid in storage tanks would not be practical due to the weight an= d = size implications. The UK-SHEC research has therefore focused on a different approach which = could enable hydrogen to be stored at a much higher density and within = acceptable weight limits. The option involves a well-established process = called 'chemisorption', in which atoms of a gas are absorbed into the = crystal structure of a solid-state material and then released when needed. The team has tested thousands of solid-state compounds in search of a light= , = cheap, readily available material which would enable the = absorption/desorption process to take place rapidly and safely at typical = fuel cell operating temperatures. They have now produced a variety of = lithium hydride (specifically Li4BN3H10) that could offer the right blend o= f = properties. Development work is now needed to further investigate the = potential of this powder. "This could be a major step towards the breakthrough that the fuel cell = industry and the transport sector have waited for," says UK-SHEC's Project = Co-ordinator Professor Peter Edwards of the University of Oxford. "It's due = to SUPERGEN's vision of combining many of the leading groups in the UK to = tackle this, arguably the biggest challenge for the development of hydrogen = fuel cell vehicles. This work could make a key contribution to helping fuel = cell cars become viable for mass-manufacture within around 10 years." Notes for Editors Fuel cells are a key technology which could assist the emergence of a = 'hydrogen energy economy' that uses hydrogen, rather than carbon-based = fossil fuels, as its main energy carrier. They offer particular potential i= n = the transport sector, which is a major source of the carbon dioxide = emissions from fossil fuel combustion that are the main contributor to = climate change. An average new petrol-fuelled car currently produces over 3 = tonnes of CO2 a year. Professor Bill David from the ISIS Facility at the Rutherford Appleton = Laboratory notes that: "The combination of rapid materials synthesis and th= e = rapid structural characterisation capabilities at the ISIS neutron source = and the ESRF and Diamond synchrotron sources is crucial to the UK playing a = leading role in discovery and development of novel hydrogen storage = materials." Dr Paul Anderson from the University of Birmingham adds: "Active = collaborations through UKSHEC have been crucial in facilitating the rapid = characterisation of new materials synthesised in labs such as ours in = Birmingham." A major report in 2004 concluded that using hydrogen in vehicles could, on = its own, enable the UK to meet its Kyoto targets for CO2 reductions ('A = Strategic Framework for Hydrogen Energy', published by Etech, Element Energ= y = and Eoin Lees Energy). Launched in 2003, SUPERGEN is a multidisciplinary research initiative that = aims to help the UK meet its environmental emissions targets through a = radical improvement in the sustainability of power generation and supply. = SUPERGEN is managed and led by EPSRC in partnership with the Biotechnology = and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the Economic and Social = Research Council (ESRC), the Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC) = and the Carbon Trust. A total of 13 research consortia are now at work or = have been announced, in the following areas: Marine energy - energy from the seas around our coastline. Future network technologies - ensuring the continuance of a reliable supply = of power to the UK. Hydrogen energy - producing, storing, distributing and using sustainable = hydrogen as an energy carrier. Biomass, biofuels and energy crops - using fast-growing crops as a renewabl= e = fuel supply. Photovoltaic (solar cell) materials - generating electrical energy from = sunlight using advanced wafer silicon and thin film devices. Conventional power plant lifetime extension - extending the useful lives of = our existing power stations. Fuel cells - clean, highly efficient devices for producing power. Highly distributed power systems - assessing the impact of smaller = generators and incorporating these into the grid. Energy storage - developing new materials to advance rechargeable lithium = ion battery and supercapacitor technologies. Excitonic solar cells - exploring the potential for the next generation of = photovoltaic devices, focusing on organic and dye sensitised photovoltaic = systems. Wind energy - harnessing one of the UK's most abundant natural resources as = a major source of renewable energy. Energy infrastructure - developing the UK transmission and distribution = network to meet the challenges of decentralised and intermittent electricit= y = generation and life extension. Biofuel cells - fuel cells that mimic, reproduce or use biological systems. The brochure "SUPERGEN - Powering the Future" can be downloaded at = http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/Publications/Other/SUPERGEN The 'SUPERGEN 1' multidisciplinary research consortia have all been awarded = a further four years of funding following peer review of both their past = work and their proposed future programmes. The awards are: SUPERGEN Marine =A35.5M SUPERGEN Biomass =A36.4M UK Sustainable Hydrogen Energy Consortium =A36M FlexNet: SUPERGEN consortium on future network technologies =A37M These decisions ensure that the UK will continue to be at the forefront of = sustainable power generation research. In the next quarter the SUPERGEN II consortia (Photovoltaic and Plant = Lifetime Extension) will be invited to prepare renewal proposals. These wil= l = be peer reviewed and a panel will consider the proposals in the early = autumn. UK-SHEC is led by the Universities of Oxford and Bath. UK-SHEC partners are = as follows: University of Bath, University of Birmingham, University of = Glamorgan, Greater London Authority, University of Nottingham, University o= f = Oxford, Queen Mary, University of London, Policy Studies Institute and = University of Salford. Collaborators include: BOC Group, BP, STFC Rutherfor= d = Appleton Laboratory, Corus UK Ltd, DSTL, Johnson Matthey, Ilika Technologie= s = Ltd, QinetiQ, Shell Global Solution UK and Tetronics Ltd. -- = http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist