Effective hydrogen storage is crucial for the widespread adoption of hydrogen fuel cell technology. Typically, hydrogen is stored in high-pressure compressed gas cylinders at either 35 or 70 MPa. Storage at such high pressures requires advanced, energy-intensive fuel dispensing systems with built-in compressors and cooling systems, as 'well as robust tank designs with high weight and cost. Even state-of-the-art compressed hydrogen tanks, which are lined with modern carbon fibre composite materials, can still only store 2-5% by weight hydrogen [1]. As an alternative, hydrogen can be efficiently stored in solid-state materials, which enables advantages over storage in high-pressure compressed gas cylinders. Research in solid-state hydrogen storage, to date, has focused heavily on hydrogen adsorption in metal hydrides [2]. These, materials bind the absorbed hydrogen with strong chemical bonds, which adds additional design constraints such as the non-ambient temperatures required to enable hydrogen desorption [3]. Issues that must be overcome when a complete hydrogen storage system is considered.
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