Hydrogen Initiative is a cross-campus effort of the Precourt Institute for Energy.

Hydrogen Initiative

Storage and Transport

Primary Research Goals:

  • Store large volumes of gaseous, liquid or cryogenic H2 in containers or underground
  • Reduce energy consumption to convert to energy-dense cryogenic H2
  • Transport large volumes of hydrogen in containers or as chemicals
  • Utilize current infrastructure (e.g., pipelines) to transport and store H2

Hydrogen has a very high energy density (the amount of energy per kg), but it is an extremely light, low-density gas so storing and transporting it typically requires energy-intensive compression and expensive fuel containers. Stanford researchers are investigating novel ways of physically storing hydrogen in man-made containers, pipelines or underground in geologic formations, as well as using cutting-edge chemistry to find material-based storage alternatives.

Faculty & Researchers | Areas of Interest | Related Publications

Faculty & Researchers

  • Sally Benson

    Sally Benson

    Precourt Family Professor, Professor of Energy Science Engineering and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment and the Precourt Institute for Energy
  • Jef Caers

    Jef Caers

    Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences and, by courtesy, of Geophysics
  • Bruce Clemens

    Bruce Clemens

    Walter B. Reinhold Professor in the School of Engineering, Emeritus and Academic Secretary to the University
  • Wendy Gu

    Wendy Gu

    Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and, by courtesy, of Materials Science and Engineering
  • Matthias Ihme

    Matthias Ihme

    Professor of Mechanical Engineering, of Photon Science and, by courtesy, of Energy Science and Engineering
  • Tapan Mukerji

    Tapan Mukerji

    Professor (Research) of Energy Science Engineering, of Earth and Planetary Sciences and of Geophysics
  • Jennifer Dionne

    Jennifer Dionne

    Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy and Professor, by courtesy, of Radiology (Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford)

Areas of Interest

Improving energy density of man-made static physical storage (pressurized gas is current default)

Reinhold Dauskardt Hydrogen in bulk metallic glass alloys, both in terms of their effects on properties, as well as using metallic glasses for hydrogen storage

Jen Dionne Understanding the effects of nanoparticle size, shape, and crystallinity on hydrogen storage thermodynamics and kinetics (focus on Pd and Pd alloys)

Wendy Gu Using cryo-electron microscopy to understand how defects in metals behave during hydrogen charging

Matthias Ihme Supercritical and cryogenic storage of hydrogen, heat-transfer and phase transition. Storage, molecular transport and hydrogen embrittlement by hydrogen-absorption in metals

Finding material-based storage options that meet DOE targets

Dimosthenis Sokaras Hydrogen storage and hydrogen liquid carriers

Bruce Clemens Nanoparticle engineering for hydrogen storage

Evaluating geologic underground storage options

Sally Benson and Tony Kovscek Assessment of hydrogen storage opportunities in geologic formations

Jeff Caers and Tapan Mukerji Machine-learning based screening of depleted gas reservoirs for hydrogen storage potential

Utilizing the existing natural gas pipeline system

 Wendy Gu Using X-ray imaging to understand sources of hydrogen embrittlement in pipeline alloys

Related Publications

  • City-scale decarbonization experiments with integrated energy systems ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE de Chalendar, J. A., Glynn, P. W., Benson, S. M.2019; 12 (5): 1695–1707. View details for DOI 10.1039/c8ee03706j
  • How does new energy storage affect the operation and revenue of existing generation? Applied Energy Goteti, N. S., Hittinger, E., Azevedo, I. L.2021; 285 (116383). View details for DOI 10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.116383