Climate Change (CC) mitigation and reduction requires a strong effort to develop and put into use clean energy options that significantly reduce anthropogenic CO2 emissions. In Canada, the transportation sector accounts for 25% of all emissions. Hydrogen fueled vehicles is one option that has a great potential to reduce Canadian and global CO2 fuel emissions.

The H2M project, with the assistance of University of British Columbia Okanagan, will demonstrate a scaled down fuel cell powered rail locomotive (Hydrail) (250 horse power) and solid-state hydrogen storage retrofit solution on a Southern Railway of BC (SRY) diesel-electric switching locomotive. If the scaled down trial is successful, the project will proceed to scale up to a full powered locomotive (700 horse power). The project is expected to be complete by March 2022. H2M’s application includes local partners: University of British Columbia Okanagan and Southern Railway of BC.

The joint objective of the consortium is to undertake R&D necessary to produce a scalable, cost-effective combined hydrogen storage and fuel cell solution for UAV’s that addresses weight and volume and improves refueling logistics. The novel hydrogen storage system will be combined with a high-power density optimized fuel cell stack for UAV’s that integrates with the low pressure, volumetrically efficient, hydrogen storage solution.

In this project, we will develop solid-state hydrogen storage materials for the potential applications of fuel cell electric vehicles. Based on the most cutting-edge achievements in related fields, two categories of two-dimensional layered nanomaterials are proposed. Their hydrogen storage capabilities will be elaborated by in-depth characterization of material structure and hydrogen storage properties.

The objective of the proposed research is to investigate novel solid-state materials that have potential for hydrogen storage applications in fuel cell electric vehicles. Of interest are materials that can store hydrogen at ambient conditions and low pressures, have high gravimetric and volumetric hydrogen capacities, and can be safely packed into a hydrogen storage tank for automotive use. The research will focus on assessing the feasibility of threedimensional structures consisting of two-dimensional layered nanomaterials such as graphene as viable media to store hydrogen.