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Hydrogen Energy is one of the cleanest sources of fuels for automobiles. Hydrogen when used as a fuel for automobiles is used in a fuel cell where it combines with oxygen, and the burning of hydrogen yields water as a by-product thus eliminating the emanation of any sort of toxic gasses. Researchers have found that storing hydrogen is an arduous task given the fact that many materials are not conducive to storing hydrogen at the temperatures at which it is used.
Researchers in this field have now turned their attention to the search for materials to store hydrogen. Japan is one of the biggest markets for hydrogen as a fuel, and there are many researchers working on different kinds of materials for hydrogen storage. Researchers led by Shin-ichi Orimo & Yuko Nakamori at the Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University have developed a different kind of lithium nitride based material for hydrogen storage.
Nakamori tells Technical Insights "The potential application is as a hydrogen storage material for fuel cell technology. The target material, lithium nitride, and its related materials are candidates as advanced hydrogen storage material for fuel cell cars, because of their particularly high gravimetric hydrogen density".
In addition to this material, Nakamori notes that his team is also investigating film-type lithium nitride materials, which are expected to be hydrogen storage materials in cartridges for batteries in mobile phones and laptops
Though many researchers have been working on lithium nitride materials for hydrogen storage, the fact that this team of researchers has created a new kind of lithium nitride related material by adding other elements, is unique. Explains Nakamori, "Previous researchers have tried to improve the kinetics of lithium nitride materials using catalysts. We believe that designing a new kind of material is important to drastically improve the hydrogen storage properties for actual applications in fuel cells and batteries"
Regarding the commercial premise of these materials, Nakamori says, "We expect our work to be commercialized first for mobile phones ,cordless phones and laptops and then for automobiles after two and five years respectively."
Nakamori states that his team is, as the next step, collaborating with some domestic, foreign universities, laboratories, and also Japanese companies. He also informs that his team’s research is also confirmed as a project of the IEA (International Energy Agency) and NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization), in Japan. With this backing, Nakamori and Orimo’s hope that their research will help in furthering the hydrogen economy.
Details: Shin-ichi Orimo & Yuko Nakamori.Institute for Materials Research ,Tohoku University.2-1-1 Katahira Aoba-ku Sendai 980-8577. Japan. Phone + 81-22-215-2093. Fax + 81-22-215-2091. E-mail: yuko@imr.tohoku.ac.jp
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