Overview
Advances in hydrogen (H2) storage can boost the decarbonisation of Europe’s economy. As such, sustainable and efficient ways to store H2 are needed to ensure the viable implementation of hydrogen-powered fuel-cell vehicles. In this context, the EU-funded MAST3RBoost will use recycled raw materials from agroforestry waste biomass and solid urban waste to create a new generation of ultraporous materials for high-density hydrogen storage. It will bring this new generation of ultraporous materials with a 30 % increase in the working capacity of hydrogen at 100 bar. The project will produce densified prototypes of activated carbons and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) beyond 10 kg for the first time with a process guided by unsupervised machine learning.
MAST3RBoost will bring to the stage of maturation a new generation of ultraporous materials (Activated carbons, ACs, and MOFs) with a 30% increase of the working capacity of H2 at 100 bar (reaching 10 wt% and 44 gH2/lPS), by turning the lab-scale synthesis protocols into industrial-like manufacturing process. Densified prototypes of ACs and MOFs will be produced beyond 10 kg for the first time using pre-industrial facilities already in place. The process will be actively guided by unsupervised Machine Learning, while the foundations for an in-depth supervised learning in the sector of H2 storage will be established with harmonized procedures. Recycled raw materials for the manufacturing of the ultraporous materials will be actively pursued, both from waste agroforestry biomass and from solid urban waste (PET and Al-lined bricks). In parallel, new lightweight Al and Mg-based metal alloys will be adapted to Additive Manufacturing, via the WAAM technology.
Databases for mechanical properties relevant to pressure vessel design will be improved, covering gaps for testing under compressed H2. WAAM and engineering capacities (COMSOL numerical calculation) will allow to produce an innovative type I vessel demonstrator including balance of plant and with a dedicated shape to better fit on-board. A unique combination of maximum pressure (up to 100 bar) and carefully selected temperature swing will allow producing a system storage density as high as 33 gH2/lsys. The system will be manufactured to embed 1 kg of H2, becoming a worldwide benchmark for the adsorbed storage at low compression with a highly competitive projected cost of 1,780 for the automotive sector. This demonstrator will embody an actual and techno-economically feasible solution for transportations sectors that require storage capacities beyond 60 kg H2 such as trucks, trains and planes. LCA and risk & safety assessment will be performed with high-quality data and shared with stakeholders of the sector.