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The renaissance of hydrides as energy materials

Nature Reviews Materials volume 2, Article number: 16091 (2017) Cite this article

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Abstract

Materials based on hydrides have been the linchpin in the development of several practical energy storage technologies, of which the most prominent example is nickel–metal hydride batteries. Motivated by the need to meet the future's energy demand, the past decade has witnessed substantial advancements in the research and development of hydrides as media for hydrogen energy storage. More recently, new and rapidly evolving discoveries have positioned hydrides as highly promising materials for future electrochemical energy storage, such as electrolytes for mono- and divalent batteries, and anodes for lithium-ion batteries. In addition, the potential of hydrides in efficient power transmission has been recently revealed. In this Review, we highlight key advances and illustrate how the versatility of hydrides has not only yielded a meaningful past, but also ensures a very bright future.

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Figure 1: Timeline of milestones in the research and development of hydrides in energy applications.
Figure 2: Hydrides for hydrogen storage.
Figure 3: Strategies to improve hydrogen release from hydrogen-rich hydrides.
Figure 4: Properties of solid-state electrolytes for lithium- and sodium-ion batteries.
Figure 5: Hydrides for magnesium batteries.
Figure 6: Superconductors based on hydrides.

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Acknowledgements

R.M. thanks M. I. Eremets at Max-Planck Institute and E. C. E. Rönnebro at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and S.O. thanks A. Unemoto at Hitachi, T. Kono and S. Takagi at the Collaborative Research Center for Energy Materials in Tohoku University for the very helpful discussions and suggestions. R.M. thanks O. Tutusaus and R. Zhang for their assistance with the graphics. R.M. thanks T. Matsunaga at Toyota Research Institute of North America for the helpful discussions and is indebted to K. Suto for his insightful suggestions. R.M. also thanks T. Kuzuya and H. Nishikoori at Toyota Motor Corporation for reviewing the manuscript. This work was made possible by support from Toyota Research Institute of North America.

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  1. Materials Research Department, Toyota Research Institute of North America, Ann Arbor, 48105, Michigan, USA

    Rana Mohtadi

  2. WPI-Advanced Institute for Materials Research (WPI-AIMR) and Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai, 980-8577, Japan

    Shin-ichi Orimo

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  1. Rana Mohtadi
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  2. Shin-ichi Orimo
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Correspondence to Rana Mohtadi or Shin-ichi Orimo.

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Mohtadi, R., Orimo, Si. The renaissance of hydrides as energy materials. Nat Rev Mater 2, 16091 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/natrevmats.2016.91

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