Today's episode features Dr Valeska Ting who is a Reader in Smart Nanomaterials at the University of Bristol and is researching the use of nanoporous materials for hydrogen storage. Using hydrogen as a fuel source has many benefits. Due to its excellent energy density, hydrogen has long been hailed as an alternative to fossil fuels but it's also an excellent means of storing renewable energy from solar or wind sources. One of the challenges of storing hydrogen is its low density, meaning that large volumes are required to store efficient amounts of hydrogen to be able to use it as a fuel. This is precisely where Valeska’s research enters the picture. The nanoporous materials that she is working on can increase the density of hydrogen by a factor of a 1000, and therefore provide a key stepping stone towards more efficient hydrogen-powered vehicles. In this episode, Valeska and I talk about multiple aspects of this technology including:

what nanoporous materials are and how they work

how they can be used to create multifunctional materials

what scientific challenges she is addressing to scale-up and improve their performance, and

how they could be applied to design lighter hydrogen tanks for cars, aircraft or even rockets

I hope that you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. If you enjoy the Aerospace Engineering Podcast you can support it by leaving a review on iTunes or by becoming a patron.

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This episode of the Aerospace Engineering Podcast is sponsored by SAMPE North America. SAMPE is a global professional society that has been providing educational opportunities on advanced materials for more than 70 years. SAMPE’s network of engineers is a key facilitator for the advancement of aerospace engineering by enabling information exchange and synergies between aerospace companies. To find out how SAMPE can help you learn more about advanced materials and processes, consider attending the SAMPE 2018 Technical Conference and Expo in Long Beach, California.

Selected Links from the Episode

Valeska's research:

Research profile

Nanoporous materials for automotive applications

YouTube video of her research

What is a nanoporous material?

Outlook and challenges for nanoporous materials