Thanks to Forbes journalist ALAN OHNSMAN for deep diving into how H2MOF can help accelerate the hydrogen economy with a cheaper, more efficient way to store and move the fuel.
“Hydrogen is a promising form of carbon-free energy, but moving and storing the superlight element is costly and energy-intensive. So a California startup cofounded in 2022 by two leading chemiteststs, including a Nobel laureate, is designing a new type of tank made with nanomaterials that aims to be cheaper and safer than any currently in use — and hold more hydrogen, too.
Irvine, California-based H2MOF hopes to sell its next-generation hydrogen tanks sometime after 2024 to heavy-duty vehicle makers with plans to offer zero-emission fuel cell vehicles. It argues that in addition to holding fuel inside the vehicles, these tanks will also provide a better way to ship the fuel by truck or train as truckmakers transition toward using hydrogen to power carbon-free fleets.
Rather than pumping highly compressed or liquified hydrogen into a conventional tank, H2MOF is designing one that holds the energy-rich fuel in a solid state, adsorbing it into specially engineered nanomaterials. The approach is based on research by two of its cofounders and scientific advisors: Omar Yaghi, a chemistry professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and professor Sir Fraser Stoddart, winner of the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2016. (…)”
