McPhy-Energy's proposal for solid state hydrogen storage materials and systems

The renewable resources related, for instance, to solar energies exhibit two main characteristics. They have no practical limits in regards to the efficiency and their various capture methods. However, their intermittence prevents any direct and immediate use of the resulting power. McPhy-Energy proposes solutions based on water electrolysis for hydrogen generation and storage on reversible metal hydrides to efficiently cover various energy generation ranges from MW h to GW h. Large stationary storage units, based on MgH2, are presently developed, including both the advanced materials and systems for a total energy storage from similar to 70 to more than 90% efficient. Various designs of MgH2-based tanks are proposed, allowing the optional storage of the heat of the Mg-MgH2 reaction in an adjacent phase changing material. The combination of these operations leads to the storage of huge amounts of hydrogen and heat in our so-called adiabatic-tanks. Adapted to intermittent energy production and consumption from renewable sources (wind, sun, tide, etc.), nuclear over-production at night, or others, tanks distribute energy on demand for local applications (on-site domestic needs, refueling stations, etc.) via turbine or fuel cell electricity production. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.