Concern regarding the environment, climate change and our
unsustainable use of non-renewable energy sources continues to
rise. Hydrogen is a clean energy carrier, and is therefore a means
of storing, transporting and delivering energy on-demand from,
for example, wind, solar or nuclear energy sources. Energy can be
provided through combustion or in a fuel cell, with water vapour
as the only emission. The need for a safe, efficient and cost-effec-
tive means of hydrogen storage has been identified as one of the
key remaining barriers preventing wider use of hydrogen. The
automotive sector is the key driver for hydrogen energy, however
there are also other large users of hydrogen that can benefit from
a new hydrogen storage solution. These include the chemical and
metallurgical industries, and also applications such as remote
and back-up power, mobile electronics and refuelling infrastruc-
ture. It is likely that the requirements for these other applications
may differ from those of the automotive sector.