A REVIEW ON THE HYDROGEN STORAGE SYSTEM FOR FUEL CELL VEHICLES IN JAPAN

Abstract

Due to global warming and depletion of crude oil in the world, exploring new energy sources and alternative fuels are essential. Hydrogen is the most abundant element on earth and expected to be one of the main future energies. However, it is not found freely in nature and must be extracted from other substances, such as water or natural gas. As a result, there are substantial technical hurdles to produce, store and distribute hydrogen. In this paper, hydrogen storage system for automotive application, particularly fuel cell vehicles (FCVs), planned in Japan will be reviewed mainly from a view point of materials. Social or political situations toward hydrogen society in Japan and a vision for hydrogen technology proposed by the Japanese government are firstly overviewed, and some challenges toward FCVs by Japanese automotive manufacturing companies are introduced. Finally, hydrogen storage materials, such as metal hydrides and chemical hydrides, extensively studied in Japan are also reviewed, and possible hydrogen storage system for automotive application in Japan will also be discussed.