Hydrogen storage in carbon nanostructures – still a long road from science to commerce?

Hydrogen storage in carbon nanostructures is still at a research level and not yet mature for industrial application. For the time being it is unfair to compare carbon nanostructures for hydrogen storage at the same level as metal hydrides or other established storage technologies, as not yet enough research has been carried out. Nevertheless we compare carbon nanostructures with well-established hydrogen-storage technologies to develop a feeling of the needs and to identify where bottlenecks might exist. We try to sketch the long route for carbon nanostructures to become a commercial product for hydrogen storage, with a focus on mobile applications.