Innovative materials for thermal compression - solving the challenge of hydrogen compression

减少英国碳排放的关键是开发高效的氢气储存和分配技术。氢气可以使用创新的压缩技术进行压缩，但成功部署仍面临巨大挑战。解决固态压缩的挑战将对压缩氢在各种应用中的输送产生重大影响。目前的氢气加注技术，依靠机械压缩机达到850巴，供应700巴加气站。氢是一种很轻、很难压缩的气体。通常，机械压缩氢气需要额外的气体热值(约20%)。机械压缩机价格昂贵，难以维护，噪音大，而且存在可靠性问题，特别是在间歇使用的情况下。利用金属氢化物的热力学原理，我们只需将金属氢化物储存库加热到150摄氏度，就可以压缩氢气。固态氢气压缩提供了一种比机械压缩更经济的替代方案，具有更高的安全性、静音和显著降低的维护时间。我们正在寻找对发现和表征新材料感兴趣的研究人员，这些材料满足没有移动部件的固态压缩机的苛刻要求。将对他们合成的新合金进行重要的材料表征，包括吸氢和放氢、热力学和动力学测量。作为EPSRC资助的项目的一部分，已经建造了一个固态压缩机原型。下一阶段，也就是该项目的目的，是开发定制的合金，以提高压缩范围，扩大其容量，增加动力学，并开发最先进的双级氢气压缩机。通过与商业金属合金生产商和该技术的潜在终端用户接触，将有强大的行业参与。该项目将提供给斯特拉斯克莱德大学领导的数百万合作研究项目-海洋再燃料。交付成果-开发、全面表征和测试具有平压平台和快速动力学的新高压合金对，以提高现有固态压缩机原型的效率-性能评估。-对原型系统进行设计修改，使其能够满足目标操作场景要求的新要求。

Critical to reducing UK carbon emissions is the development of efficient hydrogen storage and distribution technologies. Hydrogen gas can be compressed using innovative compression technologies but there remains significant challenges to their successful deployment. Solving the challenges of solid-state compression will have a significant impact on the delivery of compressed hydrogen for a wide variety of applications. The current Hydrogen refuelling technology exists and relies on mechanical compressors to reach 850 bar to supply 700 bar refuelling stations. Hydrogen is a light and difficult to compress gas. Typically compressing hydrogen mechanically requires an additional (ca. 20%) of the calorific value of the gas. The mechanical compressors are costly, difficult to maintain, noisy and have reliability problems especially if used intermittently. Using the thermodynamics of metal hydrides to our advantage we can compress hydrogen gas just by heating the metal hydride store up to 150oC. The solid-state compression of hydrogen offers a more economical alternative to mechanical compression with a higher level of safety, quiet and significantly lower maintenance regime. We are looking for researchers that are interested in discovering, and characterising new materials that meet the demanding requirements of a solid-state compressor with no moving parts. There will be significant materials characterisation of new alloys they synthesis including hydrogen uptake and release thermodynamics and kinetic measurements. A prototype solid-state compressor has been built as part of an EPSRC funded project. The next stage, which is the purpose of the project, is to develop bespoke alloys to boost the compression range, extend their capacity, increase the kinetics and develop a state-of-the-art two stage hydrogen compressor. There will be strong industrial engagement through contact with commercial metal alloy producers and potential end users of the technology. The project will feed into a collaborative multimillion research project, Ocean-REFuel, led by the University of Strathclyde.Deliverables-Develop, full characterise and test new pairs of high-pressure alloys with flat pressure plateaus and fast kinetics to improve efficiency-Performance evaluation of existing solid state compressor prototype. -Design modifications to prototype system to enable it to meet and new requirements of the target operating scenario requirements.