On Tuesday, December 17, 2019, at 12 p.m. Eastern, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's Fuel Cell Technologies Office will present a webinar titled "On the Pathway to Lower-Cost Compressed Hydrogen Storage Tanks—Novel Precursors to Reduce the Cost of High-Strength Carbon Fiber." The webinar will cover approaches from the University of Kentucky, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Penn State University to develop novel precursors with potential to significantly reduce the cost of high-strength carbon fiber compared to incumbent technologies. The webinar will also include an overview of a cost analysis of high-pressure hydrogen storage systems by Strategic Analysis.

The high cost of hydrogen storage vessels is a key challenge for hydrogen fuel cell-powered applications in transportation. Over 50 percent of the total system cost comes from the carbon fiber in the composite that overwraps the vessels to provide the required strength. The use of carbon fiber in these applications is necessary, as it allows them to withstand the high pressure at which the hydrogen is stored while making them lightweight. The two largest areas contributing to the cost of carbon fiber in hydrogen storage vessels are the precursor material and the process to convert the precursor to carbon fiber. The advances coming from the projects featured in this webinar will help address this challenge and pave the way for affordable hydrogen storage systems in transportation.

The live webinar will feature four 10-minute presentations followed by 20 minutes of Q&A. This event will be recorded and posted online.

Register for the webinar.