A Promising Energy Storage System Based on High-Capacity Metal Hydrides

In this paper, based on the study of hydrogen accumulation in the electrodes of nickel-cadmium batteries, a high-capacity hydrogen storage system (HSS) is proposed. It has been experimentally proven that hydrogen accumulates in the electrodes of nickel-cadmium batteries in large quantities over the course of their operation. It has been shown that hydrogen accumulates in metal-ceramic matrices of sintered oxide-nickel electrodes in the form of metal hydrides. The gravimetric capacity of the nickel matrix is 20.3 wt% and the volumetric capacity is 406 kg m(-3). The obtained gravimetric capacities for metal-ceramic matrices exceed almost four times the criteria for onboard hydrogen storage systems established by the US Department of Energy (DOE), as well as previously obtained results for any reversible hydrogen accumulation materials. In addition, in our previous papers, it was proved that if we use thermal runaway for the desorption of hydrogen from metal hydrides then the kinetic and thermodynamic criteria established by the US DOE may be significantly exceeded. Thus, within the framework of the proposed HSS, using the electrochemical method of hydrogen accumulation and the thermal runaway process, one can not only achieve all of the criteria established by the US DOE for HSS but also significantly exceed them.

Automated summary

This paper proposes a high-capacity hydrogen storage system based on the study of hydrogen accumulation in the electrodes of nickel-cadmium batteries. It is found that hydrogen accumulates in large quantities in the electrodes and exists in the form of metal hydrides in metal-ceramic matrices. The experimental results show that the capacity of the metal-ceramic matrices exceeds the standards set by the US DOE and can be further increased by the thermal runaway process. Therefore, this HSS system can not only meet the requirements of the US DOE but also exceed them.