Grant: Strategic Projects Supplemental Competition

A 'hydrogen economy' for the replacement of current energy technologies was first proposed in the 1970s, but is still an unfulfilled vision. In such a scenario, hydrogen will supplant fossil fuels as the energy source in power generation, transportation and other fields. The depletion of fossil fuel resources, and the concomitant environmental issues associated with greenhouse gas emissions arising from their use, lend particular urgency to the development of technology and infrastructure appropriate for such a use of hydrogen. One of the major obstacles is the problem of hydrogen storage: hydrogen gas is not dense enough to compete effectively with gasoline and its liquefaction is expensive and difficult to sustain. A cheap and versatile hydrogen storage material is required that can absorb and release hydrogen gas on demand.Recent research in the McGrady group has focused on the use of light metals in combination with hydrogen to fulfil this role. In particular, aluminum hydrides have the ability to satisfy most of the requirements of a viable system; however, they are notoriously difficult to recharge. We have demonstrated a new synthetic approach to this problem that appears to offer the way forward. This proposal seeks support to set up a computational sub-group within our hydrogen storage team that will explore the role and nature of small amounts of catalytic metals like titanium in aluminum, and how these assist its uptake and release of hydrogen. A fundamental understanding of these issues holds the key to the development of advanced hydrogen storage materials crucial for the realization of a hydrogen economy in the transportation and energy sectors. These studies will be used to pre-select the most promising combinations, which will then be synthesized and subjected to hydrogenationexperiments