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

Abstract

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.