A state-of-the-art reference laboratory focusing on hydrogen storage materials and hydrogen embrittlement

Led by Professor Evan Gray, the NHMRF supports excellent research aiming to advance hydrogen energy technology. Access to authoritative and scarce instruments and techniques for characterising the performance of new and advanced functional materials helps to achieve this goal. NHMRF instruments play an essential part in supporting PhD projects related to hydrogen energy.

Projects currently supported

  • Magnesium-based hydrogen storage materials
  • Polymer membranes for hydrogen separation
  • Polymers for hydrogen storage
  • Hydrogen-modified titanium-dioxide for battery electrodes
  • Hydrogen embrittlement of high-strength steels
  • High-pressure hydrogen storage materials
  • Hydrogen-modified superconductors

FACILITIES AND CAPABILITIES

Led by Professor Evan Gray, capabilities at the Griffith University node of NHMRF include:

  • measurement of hydrogen absorption and adsorption at pressures up to 200 megapascal and temperatures from 80 to 800 kelvin
  • thermal desorption spectroscopy of hydrogen storage materials
  • thermal desorption spectroscopy of hydrogen-embrittled alloys at the ppm level
  • accelerated lifetime testing of hydrogen storage materials
  • a high-energy x-ray diffractometer for in-situ x-ray powder diffraction measurements on samples under hydrogen pressures up to 100 megapascal
  • a prototype metal-hydrode storage tank holding 1 kg hydrogen, for testing multiphysics models of hydrogen-storage systems.

Collaborations

NHMRF currently supports research collaborations with the following organisations:

  • The University of Queensland
  • Queensland University of Technology
  • Aarhus University, Denmark
  • Helmholtz Institute, Germany.

Proposals for new collaborations are welcome.

Support

Funding to create the NHMRF was provided by:

  • Australian Research Council
  • Griffith University
  • Monash University
  • The University of Queensland
  • Alstom
  • Curtin University of Technology
  • Queensland University of Technology.

More information

If you would like more details about the Griffith University node of NHMRF, get in touch