Hydrogen storage properties of metallic hydrides

Nowadays, energy needs are mainly covered by fossil energies leading to pollutant emissions mostly responsible for global warming. Among the different possible solutions for greenhouse effect reduction, hydrogen has been proposed for energy transportation. Indeed, H-2 can be seen as a clean and efficient energy carrier. However, beside the difficulties related to hydrogen production, efficient high capacity storage means are still to be developed. Many metals and alloys are able to store large amounts of hydrogen. This latter solution is of interest in terms of safety, global yield and long term storage. However, to be suitable for applications, such compounds must present high capacity, good reversibility, fast reactivity and sustainability. In this paper, we will review the structural and thermodynamic properties of metallic hydrides.