Aldrich
Materials Science, a strategic technology initiative of Sigma-Aldrich
Corporation this week announced it has signed an agreement to
collaborate on the scale-up and commercialization of next generation
hydrogen-storage materials with Ilika plc, an advanced cleantech
materials discovery company. Both companies believe the enterprise will
become a vital component of the energy industry’s efforts to develop
consumer-friendly hydrogen storage materials for fuel cell and clean
combustion technology.
Hydrogen
represents an attractive carrier of energy as its combustion or direct
conversion to electricity via a fuel cell does not lead to the emission
of carbon dioxide. In addition, hydrogen can be used as an alternative
energy carrier to battery technology since the energy density of
hydrogen can be substantially higher than that of batteries. The main
criteria for hydrogen storage for transport purposes, as outlined by the
US Freedom Car Initiative (http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/pdfs/freedomcar_plan.pdf),
are to supply enough hydrogen to enable a driving range of
approximately 500 km, to charge and recharge at near room temperature
and to provide hydrogen at rates fast enough for vehicular operation –
from cars to trains.
Current
prototype applications use very high pressure compressed hydrogen or
cryogenically cooled liquid hydrogen. These methods consume a
significant percentage of the energy content in their compression and
conversion and both raise safety concerns. Ilika’s storage solution is a
solid metal hydride, which exists as a powder stored in a cylinder at
moderate pressure and stable at room temperature. When warmed to
moderate temperatures, hydrogen is released for use as fuel.
To
be economically viable, the target weight percentage of hydrogen stored
in such a material has been set at 6% by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Current commercially available hydride materials can achieve up to 2.3
weight % of hydrogen. The hydride materials being verified and scaled-up
by Aldrich Materials Science can potentially store up to 10 weight % of
hydrogen, reversibly.
The
partnership was brought by Ilika’s need for Aldrich’s mechanochemistry
and manufacturing expertise. Aldrich, in turn, was attracted by Ilika’s
high-throughput discovery capabilities, which are complementary to its
scale-up facilities.
SOURCE: Aldrich Materials Science
