How is hydrogen stored?
Hydrogen is an ultra-light gas that occupies a substantial volume under standard conditions of pressure, i.e., atmospheric pressure. In order to store and transport hydrogen efficiently, this volume must be significantly reduced.
Hydrogen is the lightest gas in the entire Universe. One liter of this gas weighs only 90 mg under normal atmospheric pressure, which means that it is 11 times lighter than the air we breathe.
A volume of around 11 m3 (which is the volume of the trunk of a large utility or commercial vehicle) is needed to store just 1 kg of hydrogen, which is the quantity needed to drive 100 km. For this reason, its density must be increased using one of the following techniques:
- High-pressure storage in the gaseous form
- Very low temperature storage in the liquid form
- Hydride-based storage in the solid form
