Hydrogen storage for fuel cell vehicles

The concerns over diminishing resources and the environmental impact of burning fossil fuels have focused attention on the development of alternative and sustainable energy sources for transportation applications. In this context, hydrogen is an attractive option to replace current hydrocarbon-based systems. A major obstacle for the development of hydrogen powered fuel cell vehicles is the lack of safe, light weight and energy efficient means for on-board hydrogen storage. During the last fifteen years, significant effort has been made to develop effective hydrogen storage methods, including hydrogen tank, sorbents and metal/chemical hydrides. In the present article, we concisely review the current status of each on-board hydrogen storage technology, along with its advantages and disadvantages, and offer a perspective for future developments.