[miahi]

Hydrogen storage is not something that you really want to do at home, especially in "saving up" quantities. It is quite happy to explode, you need tremendous pressures and low temperatures for efficient storage, and also hard to contain (many "normal" materials are permeable to hydrogen). [1]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_safety

[pkphilip]

There are ways of storing hydrogen in metal hydrides at room temperature and pressure. This makes a LOT of sense for people who may want to have an option of buying stored energy - such as those who live in apartments without access to the terraces where solar panels can be deployed.

If these metal hydride storage is used similar to how changeable batteries are used, it is conceivable that you could drive up to a place like a fuel station just to change out your metal hydride storage in a matter of a couple of minutes and perhaps even get additional supplementary units packed at the back of the vehicle if they intend to go on a long journey.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenrg.2021.6161...

There has also been recent advances in using Boron Nitride for storage - a perfectly safe chemical.

https://www.geelongmanufacturingcouncil.com.au/2022/07/innov...

[defrost]

There is a case for portable storage, sure.

Hydrogen at scale is going to look more like a means to export sunlight energy from equatorial climes (Australia, Sahel, etc) to Europe, the northern US, Canada as required.

Efficiencies dictate the most likely roll out is large central generation of electricity and dispersal via the existing electrical grid system.

In a similar view individual per apartment solar panels make little sense, panels should be built into entire buildings .. across roofs and across any required parking structures, etc.

[viewtransform]

Is the watts/kg for this electicity ->hydrogen+metal hydride storage solution better than an electicity -> lithium-ion battery solution ?

[ephbit]

> Hydrogen storage is not something that you really want to do at home, especially in "saving up" quantities. It is quite happy to explode, you need tremendous pressures and low temperatures for efficient storage, and also hard to contain ..

Agree, hydrogen storage is not something you do as easily as say piling up some fire wood.

On the other hand, it's totally possible to do at home and it is being done. Hydrogen can be stored in regular gas cylinders. See the realized projects from Home Power Solutions [1].

If these cylinders are located outside, explosions should be rather unlikely due to ventilation.

[1] https://www.homepowersolutions.de/en/picea-plus/