Three Materials Could Hold the Key to Future Hydrogen Cars

Award recipient Timo Thonhauser of Wake Forest University said current storage methods, such as compressing hydrogen into tanks, are unwieldy, making the storage question the big bottleneck in turning hydrogen fuel cars into a reality.

“Simply pumping pure hydrogen into pressurized tanks in your car is inefficient and potentially dangerous,” he said. “But even if you could, you just cannot get enough of it into the tank – you’d drive for 50 miles, and then your car would stop. So we need to find a better way to store hydrogen, and that means identifying a material that can safely incorporate it into its structure.”

The NSF CAREER Award, given to the nation’s top junior faculty who demonstrate excellence as teacher-scholars, comes with a $426,572 grant. Thonhauser, an assistant professor of physics, will use this grant to determine whether any of the three substances – magnesium borohydride, ammonia borane, and alkanes – could be used to create a safe and efficient hydrogen storage solution.

Hydrogen has shown great promise as an alternative fuel. It is the most abundant element on the surface of Earth, and every nation has access to it. One pound of hydrogen has about three times as much energy as one pound of gasoline, and seven times as much energy as one pound of coal. But even better, when hydrogen combusts, the only byproduct is water.

“So, if hydrogen is so cool, why aren’t we using it? It’s because we don’t know how to store it in a practical way,” Thonhauser said. “There’s no question that fossil fuels are going to run out eventually. Plus, the combustion of fossil fuels creates a lot of problems for the environment. Research into alternative fuels is vital right now.”

The CAREER Award also requires scientists to develop outreach programs. Thonhauser will work with SciWorks, a science and environmental center in Winston-Salem, N.C., to build an interactive hydrogen fuel exhibition; he also will create a mentoring program at Wake Forest to help graduate and post-doctoral students improve research skills and begin their careers as scientists.

About Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University combines the best traditions of a small liberal arts college with the resources of a large research university. Founded in 1834, the school is located in Winston-Salem, N.C. The University’s graduate school of arts and sciences, divinity school, and nationally ranked schools of law, medicine and business enrich our intellectual environment. Learn more about Wake Forest University at www.wfu.edu.