Distinguished iNANO Lecture: Nanotechnology for Hydride-based Energy Storage

Associate Professor Hai-Wen Li^1,2

¹ International Research Center for Hydrogen Energy, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395,Japan

² WPI International Institute for Carbon-Neutral Energy Research (WPI-I2CNER), Kyushu University, Fukuoka819-0395, Japan

Nanotechnology for Hydride-based Energy Storage

Reliable energy supply from renewable energy such as solar and wind requires efficient energy storage systems. Hydrogen has been widely regarded as a promising clean energy carrier, whereas its extremely low volumetric energy density (< 1/3000 of petroleum) makes high-density hydrogen storage very challenging especially for the realization of hydrogen energy society.

In comparison with physical hydrogen storage methods such as compressed gas (> 350 bar) and liquid hydrogen (~20 K), storage of hydrogen in hydrides not only improve volumetric energy density by reducing the hydrogen to hydrogen distance, but also prevent the use of extremely high pressure and extremely low temperature. Nanostructured materials have been proved to exhibit significant hydrogen storage properties. In this seminar, we will describe 1) Surface nanostructure modification of metal hydrides such as LaNi₅-based intermetallic compounds for electrochemical application, 2) Carbon and metal organic frameworks (MOF) materials with high surface area for hydrogen adsorption and 3) Nanoengineering like thin film and nanoconfinement on tuning the thermodynamics and improving the kinetics of various hydrides toward practical applications.

Short biography
Hai-Wen Li obtained his Ph. D. degree in 2005 from Kitami Institute of Technology (Japan), under the supervision of Prof. Kiyoshi Aoki. In 2005, he started to work as a postdoctoral researcher with Prof. Shin-ichi Orimo at Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University. From 2006-2008, he became a JSPS (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science) Research Fellow. In 2008, he was assigned as an assistant professor at Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University. Since 2011, he works as an associate professor at International Research Center for Hydrogen Energy and International Institute for Carbon-Neutral Energy Research (WPI-I2CNER), Kyushu University. His research interests focus on investigating fundamental, physical and chemical properties of metal and complex hydrides, aiming at developing advanced materials for hydrogen storage as well as secondary batteries.