A Calgary, Canada–based company Ayrton Energy has announced its innovative method of hydrogen storage and distribution that could make hydrogen an everyday fossil fuel in existing infrastructure like pipelines, fuel tankers, rail cars, and trucks.
Instead of keeping liquid hydrogen in high-pressure cryogenic tanks to hold liquid hydrogen at temperatures below -252 ºC, the new approach would allow it to be transported and stored in ambient conditions. This will also be one of the big improvements for gaseous hydrogen, which is highly volatile and difficult to keep contained.
The company uses liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs) to make it easier to transport and store hydrogen. This method chemically bonds hydrogen to carrier molecules, which absorb hydrogen molecules and make them more stable, such as hydrogenating cooking oil in margarine production.
Conventional LOHC technologies are currently used that rely on substances such as toluene, which forms methylcyclohexane when hydrogenated. These carriers often pose safety risks due to their flammability and volatility.
Some hydrogen fuel companies like Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies in Erlanger, Germany have shifted toward dibenzyltoluene, a more stable carrier that holds more hydrogen per unit volume than methylcyclohexane. However, this method also needs higher temperatures and more energy to bind and release the hydrogen.
Compared to other LOHCs, Ayrton’s proprietary oil-based hydrogen carrier captures and releases hydrogen with less input energy. In addition, it also stores more hydrogen than methylcyclohexane can, about 55 kilograms per cubic meter compared with methylcyclohexane’s 50 kg/m³.
Although dibenzyltoluene holds more hydrogen per unit volume, which could be up to 65 kg/m³, Ayrton’s approach infuses the carrier with hydrogen atoms promising to cost less. Hydrogenation or dehydrogenation with Ayrton’s carrier fluid is reported to conduct at 0.1 megapascal (1 bar) and about 100 ºC. After hydrogenation, hydrogen can be transported and stored at ambient temperatures and pressures.
Founded in 2021, Ayrton is one of the companies across the globe developing LOHCs. Other ones are Japan’s Chiyoda and Mitsubishi, Germany’s Covalion, and China’s Hynertech. The U.S. In May, the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) named Ayrton an “outstanding early-stage venture” for Ayrton’s nontoxic, oil-based carrier fluid, which could mean for the energy and transportation sectors.
