Hydrogen Storage Experiments for an Undergraduate Laboratory Course-Clean Energy: Hydrogen/Fuel Cells

Global interest in both renewable energies and reduction in emission levels has placed increasing attention on hydrogen-based fuel cells that avoid harm to the environment by releasing only water as a byproduct. Therefore, there is a critical need for education and workforce development in clean energy technologies. A new undergraduate laboratory course for students has been developed, entitled, Clean Energy: Hydrogen/Fuel Cells. If hydrogen is to be used on a large-scale basis, the storage of hydrogen becomes a crucial issue for mobility and transport applications. Fuel cell technology would be practical if hydrogen could be stored in a safe, efficient, compact, and economic manner. The experiments reported here train students to measure the hydrogen storage capacity of aqueous hydrochloric acid solution and gad magnesium hydride by measuring the consumption of hydrogen with a hydrogen fuel cell and evaluating its performance. In addition, students also gain fundamental experience handling gases and using the gas law equations.