Researchers to develop a hydrogen fuel storage monitoring system

Team of researchers wins funding from Technology Strategy Board for project involving hydrogen storage tanks

A team of researchers from R-Tech Services has been awarded funding from the United Kingdom’s Technology Strategy Board. The funding will help researchers develop a monitoring system for hydrogen fuel storage tanks. The system is meant to serve as an early warning of any damage done to a storage tank and will also warn of faults in the storage system it is monitoring. This could be particularly useful for the transportation sector, where fuel cell vehicles are becoming more popular.

Hydrogen storage continues to be a difficult issue to resolve effectively, especially when it comes to safety

Hydrogen fuel storage has been a complicated issue for some time. Conventional storage solutions consume a large amount of electrical power, making them somewhat inefficient. There are also concerns regarding the durability of modern storage tanks. Because hydrogen is so volatile, it must be stored in durable tanks to avoid any potential catastrophe. This concern is most often highlighted in regards to fuel cell vehicles.

Monitoring system will be able to detect faults in a hydrogen storage tanks and provide a warning when a defect is found

R-Tech Services will be developing storage tanks that have faults for the purpose of this project. Defective tanks will be used as experiments for the monitoring system that is being developed. The monitoring system will provide valuable data concerning defective storage tanks and help R-Tech Services and its partners better understand what can be done to improve storage technologies.

Monitoring systems could improve the safety of fuel cell vehicles in the future

The monitoring system is meant to be used with all fuel cell vehicles. The system would store information concerning a vehicle’s storage tank and this information can be accessed whenever the vehicle is being services. The Technology Strategy Board has provided some $500,000 in funding for the project. With fuel cell vehicles expected launch in the United Kingdom in 2015, concerns  regarding a vehicle’s safety are beginning to become more apparent. Monitoring solutions could help improve future iterations of these vehicles.