This paper provides an overview of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) hydrogen and fuel cell activities within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), focusing on key targets, progress towards meeting those targets, and materials-related issues that need to be addressed. The most recent, state-of-the-art data on metrics such as cost, durability, and performance of fuel cell and hydrogen technologies are presented. Key technical accomplishments to date include a 50% reduction in the modeled high volume cost of fuel cells since 2006, and an 80% cost reduction for electrolyzers since 2002. The statuses of various hydrogen production, delivery, and storage technologies are also presented along with a summary of materials-related challenges for hydrogen infrastructure technologies such as compression, dispensing, seals, pipeline materials/embrittlement, and storage materials. Specific examples and areas requiring more research are discussed. Finally, future plans including EERE’s lab consortium approach such as HyMARC (Hydrogen Storage Materials Advanced Research Consortium) and FC-PAD (Fuel Cell Performance and Durability) Consortia, are summarized.

Long wavelength acoustic phonons are normally weakly coupled to other vibrational modes in a crystalline system. This is particularly problematic in molecular dynamics calculations where vibrations at the system-size scale are typically excited at initiation. The equilibration time for these vibrations depends on the strength of coupling to other modes, so is typically very long. A very simple deterministic method is presented which removes this problem. Examples of equilibration in lithium and a martensitic phase transition in sodium are used to demonstrate the method.

Heterogeneous catalytic materials and electrodes are used for (electro)chemical transformations, including those important for energy storage and utilization.1, 2 Due to the heterogeneous nature of these materials, activity measurements with sufficient spatial resolution are needed to obtain structure/activity correlations across the different surface features (exposed facets, step edges, lattice defects, grain boundaries, etc.). These measurements will help lead to an understanding of the underlying reaction mechanisms and enable engineering of more active materials. Because (electro)catalytic surfaces restructure with changing environments,1 it is important to perform measurements in operando. Sub-diffraction fluorescence microscopy is well suited for these requirements because it can operate in solution with resolution down to a few nm. We have applied sub-diffraction fluorescence microscopy to a thin cell containing an electrocatalyst and a solution containing the redox sensitive dye p-aminophenyl fluorescein to characterize reaction at the solid-liquid interface. Our chosen dye switches between a nonfluorescent reduced state and a one-electron oxidized bright state, a process that occurs at the electrode surface. This scheme is used to investigate the activity differences on the surface of polycrystalline Pt, in particular to differentiate reactivity at grain faces and grain boundaries. Ultimately, this method will be extended to study other dye systems and electrode materials.

The goal of this work is to study the properties of magnetically aligned CNT/PC nanocomposites towards the development of hydrogen gas separation membranes. A fraction (0.1 weight %) of synthesized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been dispersed homogeneously throughout polycarbonate (PC) matrix by ultrasonication. The alignment of CNT in PC matrix has been accomplished by applying an external magnetic field of 1200 Gauss. These nanocomposites have been studied by gas permeation using H2, N2 and Co2 electrical and dielectric constant measurements. Experimental results of gas permeability measurements exhibit here that H2 is more selective than N2 and Co2 in magnetically aligned nanocomposite membranes which can be used as good hydrogen separating media. I-V characteristics show the electron hopping like behavior and dielectric constant shows the enhancement in permittivity of these nanocomposites.

Cr, V, and Fe amino borohydride complexes were synthesized using a solution based approach. Thermogravimetric Analysis with simultaneous Differential Scanning Calorimetry was used to investigate their decomposition behavior. The synthesized Cr and Fe complexes exhibited significant hydrogen release around 100 °C. The synthesized V complex showed a large mass loss at temperatures between 50 °C and 100 °C and release of amine byproducts. FTIR of decomposed intermediates showed the decomposition of Cr amino borohydride occurs through the simultaneous loss of hydrogen from both the borohydride and amino ligands, while the Fe complex displays preferential dehydrogenation of the borohydride over the amino ligand. The decomposed products take on a BN type structure when heated to 400 °C.

The formation and stability of radiation-induced defects in structural materials in reactor environments significantly effects their integrity and performance. Hydrogen, which may be present in significant quantities in future reactors, may play an important role in defect evolution. To characterize the effect of hydrogen on cascade damage evolution, in-situ TEM self-ion irradiation and deuterium implantation was performed, both sequentially and concurrently, on nickel. This paper presents preliminary results characterizing dislocation loop formation and evolution during room temperature deuterium implantation and self-ion irradiation and the consequence of the sequence of irradiation. Hydrogen isotope implantation at room temperature appears to have little or no effect on the final dislocation loop structures that result from self-ion irradiation, regardless of the sequence of irradiation. Tilting experiments emphasize the importance of precise two-beam conditions for characterizing defect size and structure.

In-situ ion irradiation and transmission electron microscopy has been used to examine the effects of the He appm to DPA ratio, temperature and dose on the damage structure of tungsten (W). Irradiations were performed with 15 or 60 keV He+ ions, achieving He-appm/displacements per atom (DPA) ratios of ∼40,000 and ∼2000, respectively, at temperatures between 500 and 1000°C to a dose of ∼3 DPA. A high number of small dislocation loops with sizes around 5–20 nm and a He bubble lattice were observed for both He-appm/DPA ratios at 500°C with a bubble size ∼1.5 nm. Using the g.b =0 criterion the loops were characterised as b = ±1/2<111> type. At 750°C bubbles do not form an ordered array and are larger in size compared to the irradiations at 500°C, with a diameter of ∼3 nm. Fewer dislocation loops were observed at this temperature and were also characterised to be b = ±1/2<111> type. At 1000°C, no dislocation loops were observed and bubbles grew as a function of fluence attributed to vacancy mobility being higher and vacancy clusters becoming mobile.