Cost and potential of metal-organic frameworks for hydrogen back-up power supply

Hydrogen offers a route to storing renewable electricity and lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Metal-organic framework (MOF) adsorbents are promising candidates for hydrogen storage, but a deep understanding of their potential for large-scale, stationary back-up power applications has been lacking. Here we utilize techno-economic analysis and process modelling, which leverage molecular simulation and experimental results, to evaluate the future opportunities of MOF-stored hydrogen for back-up power applications and set critical targets for future material development. We show that with carefully designed charging-discharging patterns, MOFs coupled with electrolysers and fuel cells are economically comparable with contemporary incumbent energy-storage technologies in back-up power applications. Future research should target developing MOFs with 15 g kg(-1) of recoverable hydrogen adsorbed (excess uptake) and could be manufactured for under US$10 kg(-1) to make the on-site storage system a leading option for back-up power applications. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are promising candidates to store hydrogen for transportation, but less focus has been on their potential for storage in large-scale, stationary applications. Here Peng et al. perform techno-economic analysis and process modelling to evaluate the prospects of MOFs for back-up power.

Automated summary

This study evaluates the prospects of metal-organic framework (MOF) for back-up power applications by utilizing techno-economic analysis and process modelling. The results show that with carefully designed charging-discharging patterns, MOFs can be economically comparable with existing energy-storage technologies in back-up power applications.