The US Air Force finances a project using ammonia borane (H3NBH3) to pack hydrogen gas for using it in fuel cells. Jadoo Power Systems was given a contract this week to develop ammonia borane pellets for hydrogen generation.
What’s interesting in this type of hydrogen storage is that the gas is stored not in a liquid state, not in a pressurized tube, but in a solid form, embedded in the material itself. Additionally, it is non-toxic and explosion-safe to the user.
Jadoo says: “Ammonia borane is a white solid hydrogen fuel stock that can be contained in pellets about the size of the tip of a person’s small finger. For fuel cell power applications, this means a dramatic improvement in system size and weight while improving energy density and reducing overall system costs over current power system technologies”
This technology could help soldiers or unmanned air vehicles (UMAV) carry their energy much more efficiently and safely.
Other methods involving the use of several metallic alloys for the purpose of storing hydrogen have been found recently, but this one seems interesting because its concept is a little bit different of others – the hydrogen is chemically encapsulated.
If we had hydrogen at $.01 per killogram we still could not afford the fuel cell that would use it.