Concept, Design and Manufacture of a Prototype Hydrogen Storage Tank Based on Sodium Alanate

Abstract

In the framework of the EC project STORHY (Hydrogen Storage for Automotive Applications), the prototype of a solid storage tank for hydrogen based on sodium alanate was developed. A storage tank containing 8 kg sodium alanate was designed and manufactured with the objective of fast refueling. To obtain the optimum design of the storage tank a simulation tool was developed and validated by experiments with a laboratory-scale tubular reactor. Application of the simulation tool to different storage concepts and geometries yielded the final design. The chosen concept is modular, enabling simple scale-up. This is the basis for the future development of fuel cell vehicle storage tanks containing 5 kg of hydrogen.