In recent years, the development of hydrogen energy seems to have been pressed as a shortcut button, and is gradually becoming an important part of China's energy strategy.
Hydrogen energy is a kind of green energy, which has the characteristics of wide source, high energy density, large-scale storage and clean and low carbon, etc., and is considered to be the most ideal "ultimate energy" for human beings, and it is also the main means to achieve carbon neutrality.
According to the recently released China's "Medium and Long-term Development Plan for the Development of Hydrogen Energy Industry" (2021-2035), it is estimated that by 2025, the output value of China's hydrogen energy industry will reach 1 trillion yuan; by 2050, the hydrogen demand will be close to 60 million tons, hydrogen energy will account for more than 10% of China's terminal energy system, and the annual output value of the industrial chain will reach more than 12 trillion yuan.
However, the promotion of hydrogen energy has always faced a problem, because the volume of hydrogen is light and the molecule is small, resulting in a very low volume density and easy to permeate diffusion in the storage and transportation process, which brings great safety risks and high economic costs.
Figure | Han Shumin (Source: Zhongke Xuanda)
"How to achieve the safe and economic storage and transportation of hydrogen is a common problem in hydrogen energy applications, and hydrogen storage technology is a key core technology in hydrogen energy applications." Han Shumin, professor of Yanshan University, doctoral supervisor and chairman of Zhongke Xuanda New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., said.
The new solid hydrogen storage material is expected to become a key material for the industrialization of hydrogen energy
According to Han Shumin, at present, the storage and transportation of hydrogen is mainly divided into three ways, namely high-pressure gaseous hydrogen storage, low-temperature liquid hydrogen storage and hydride solid hydrogen storage.
Among them, the high-pressure gaseous hydrogen storage industry has a good foundation, the speed of filling and discharging hydrogen is fast, and it is a mainstream technology that is widely used at present, but its application is limited in the case of high safety and volume requirements; the advantage of low-temperature liquid hydrogen storage is that the energy storage density is high, but the energy consumption is large, its cost is high and there is a risk of heat leakage, so it is mainly used in special fields such as aerospace.
As a new hydrogen storage technology, hydride solid hydrogen storage has become more and more eye-catching in recent years, with the advantages of high volumetric hydrogen storage density, low pressure and storage and transportation safety, but its high requirements for hydrogen storage materials, so it is more suitable for fixed hydrogen storage. With the substantial improvement of the performance of hydrogen storage materials, hydride solid hydrogen storage has shown good application prospects and potential in high safety plus (storage) hydrogen stations.
Figure | Schematic diagram of hydrogen energy application (Source: Zhongke Xuanda)
Han Shumin further said that with the rapid development of the hydrogen energy industry, high-performance hydrogen storage materials, as the core technology of high-safety and low-pressure solid hydrogen storage, will surely usher in huge development opportunities. On the other hand, the technological and industrial progress of hydrogen storage materials is also an objective demand for the healthy development of hydrogen energy in the future.
In a series of new solid hydrogen storage materials, rare earth hydrogen storage alloys undoubtedly occupy an important position.
Rare earth hydrogen storage alloy is an alloy material that can reversibly absorb and release hydrogen under normal conditions, and has the characteristics of mild hydrogen absorption and discharge temperature, fast and easy activation, good stability and moderate cost. Most importantly, China's rare earth production accounts for more than 80% of the world's total, with an important raw material advantage.
"Rare earths account for more than 30 percent of hydrogen storage materials, and highly abundant rare earth lanthanum and cerium are used in large quantities. Therefore, giving full play to the advantages of the mainland rare earth industry and vigorously developing new rare earth hydrogen storage materials are of great practical significance to promoting the application of hydrogen energy in the mainland. Han Shumin said.
Figure | Hydrogen refueling station (Source: Zhongke Xuanda)
The new rare earth hydrogen storage material is a class of rare earth hydrogen storage materials with higher hydrogen storage capacity and special crystal structure, which has higher hydrogen storage capacity and more excellent characteristics and cost performance than traditional rare earth hydrogen storage alloys.
It is understood that Han Shumin's team has long been committed to the research and development of basic theories and application technologies of new rare earth hydrogen storage materials, and has achieved important results in revealing the superlattice structure, hydrogen storage mechanism, generation conditions and structure-activity relationship of new rare earth hydrogen storage alloys. He has published more than 200 SCI papers, published 1 academic monograph, and obtained more than 30 invention patents at home and abroad.
In addition, at the key industrialization level, its team has also made major breakthroughs, built a production line with independent intellectual property rights, and broken the foreign technology blockade and product monopoly in this field in one fell swoop.
Break the monopoly of foreign technology and independently build China's first new hydrogen storage material production line
In 2016, Professor Han Shumin was greatly touched when he learned that foreign countries had realized the industrialization of new rare earth hydrogen storage materials, and the products had begun to be used in the production of high-capacity and low-self-discharge batteries.
In his view, hydrogen storage technology is a key core technology for hydrogen energy applications, and China has carried out systematic theoretical research and technological development, but the industrialization capacity is still insufficient. As a scientific and technological worker, one of his greatest wishes in scientific research is to transform his research results into productivity in a timely manner. "Foreigners can do it, and we can do it." Han Shumin said.
In this case, with a heart that does not accept defeat and a passion for blood, Han Shumin founded Baotou Zhongke Xuanda New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Zhongke Xuanda) in Baotou Rare Earth High-tech Zone in 2017 and began the road of entrepreneurship.
Figure | Hydrogen storage material production workshop (Source: Zhongke Xuanda)
Scientific research is most taboo to be divorced from reality, and enterprises also need to find their own positioning and combine technology and industrialization in order to practice the major strategic needs of the country.
In recent years, the Chinese government has continuously increased its efforts to encourage the development of the hydrogen energy industry and made positive progress in stack technology and components. However, it is undeniable that China's gap with the international community in key hydrogen storage materials and technologies is still significant, which also leads to higher costs in all aspects of the hydrogen energy industry chain, and commercial promotion is very difficult.
Zhongke Xuanda is aiming at this market demand, adhering to the road of science and technology leadership and green development, and is committed to building a global advanced hydrogen storage material research and development center and product supply base with leading technology and excellent quality.
Under the guidance of this original intention and mission, coupled with the incubation support of the Baotou Rare Earth R&D Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Zhongke Chuangxing, Zhongke Xuanda quickly launched the construction project of the new rare earth hydrogen storage alloy electrode production line relying on the research results of Han Shumin's team.
It is understood that the project was successfully completed in December 2019. This is also the first new rare earth hydrogen storage material production line in China with independent intellectual property rights, with a production capacity of more than 300 tons / year, and has entered the stage of mature technology, stable production and product market promotion. At the same time, it has also broken the monopoly and blockade of Foreign countries on the industrial technology and products of new rare earth hydrogen storage materials.
Relying on advanced technology, solid-state hydrogen storage and nickel-metal hydride batteries go hand in hand
It is worth noting that in addition to the solid hydrogen storage performance, rare earth hydrogen storage materials also have electrochemical hydrogen storage properties, and another important use is as an anode material for nickel-metal hydride batteries.
Nickel-metal hydride batteries, also known as metal hydride nickel (MH/Ni) batteries, use potassium hydroxide aqueous solution as an electrolyte, which belongs to the alkaline battery of the aqueous system. It has the characteristics of high safety, low temperature resistance, fast charging, high-power discharge, green environmental protection and easy recycling, etc., which happen to be the weak links of lithium batteries, so they can make up for market demand to a certain extent.
Figure | Application of rare earth hydrogen storage materials (Source: Zhongke Xuanda)
At present, nickel-metal hydride batteries have been widely used in the fields of gasoline-electric hybrid energy-saving vehicles, rail transit, ships, submarine tanks, wind power photovoltaic energy storage, electric forklifts, smart home appliances, consumer electronics, medical equipment, Internet of Things, special instrumentation and civil consumer batteries.
Compared with the traditional AB5 type hydrogen storage alloy electrode material, the electrochemical capacity of the new rare earth hydrogen storage alloy material produced by Zhongke Xuanda can be increased by more than 20%, and the capacity performance, kinetic performance, low temperature characteristics and other aspects have been greatly improved, which has greatly improved the cost performance of nickel-metal hydride power batteries, and has been applied and promoted in many nickel-metal hydride battery companies.
"The current problem that nickel-metal hydride batteries urgently need to solve is the low weight energy density, so the development and production of high-capacity new rare earth hydrogen storage materials can greatly improve the market competitiveness of MH/Ni batteries." Han Shumin said.
Figure | New rare earth hydrogen storage material products (Source: Zhongke Xuanda)
Speaking of the next step of development planning, Han Shumin said that Zhongke Xuanda will build a new production line on the basis of maintaining the current production capacity, so that the annual production capacity of new rare earth hydrogen storage materials will exceed 1,000 tons. At the same time, Zhongke Xuanda will further exert the advantages of new rare earth hydrogen storage materials in terms of cost, performance and resource reserves, adhere to the steady expansion of battery hydrogen storage materials, and actively welcome the rapid development of the hydrogen energy industry, vigorously develop and promote solid hydrogen storage materials, and create a high-performance hydrogen storage material research and development center and product supply base.
There is no doubt that China's hydrogen energy industry is about to usher in an important period of opportunity, and many new technology companies represented by Zhongke Xuanda are accelerating their layout, and the technology and industrialization of hydrogen storage materials will surely leave a strong mark in it.
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