A New Technology for Hydrogen Safety - Glass Structures as a Storage System

The storage of hydrogen poses inherent weight, volume and safety obstacles. An innovative technology which allows for the storage of hydrogen in thin sealed glass capillaries ensures the safe infusion, storage and controlled release of hydrogen gas, under pressures up to 100 MPa. Glass is a non-flammable material which also guarantees high burst pressures. The pressure resistance of single and multiple capillaries has been determined for different glass materials. Borosilicate capillaries have been proven to have the highest pressure resistance and have therefore been selected for further series of advanced testing. The innovative storage system is finally composed of a variable number of modules. As such, in the case of the release of hydrogen this modular arrangement allows potential hazards to be reduced to a minimum. Further advantage of a modular system is the arrangement of single modules in every shape and volume dependent on the final application. Therefore the typical locations of storage systems, e.g. the rear of cars, can be modified or shifted to places of higher safety and not directly involved in crashes. The various methods of refilling and releasing capillaries with compressed hydrogen, the increase of burst pressures through pre-treatment, as well as the theoretical analysis and experimental results of the resistance of glass capillaries will further be discussed in detail.