Hydrogen storage in carbon nanofibers as being studied by Northeastern University. Technical evaluation report

As part of the current technical evaluation effort, the author was tasked with going to Northeastern, interviewing Dr. Baker and his team, seeing a demonstration of the storage process, and making an assessment of the validity of the claim and the soundness of the research. Dr. Baker and his group have a process that, if proven to work, could be the breakthrough that is needed in the area of on-board hydrogen storage. One of the biggest problems may be the fact that the results look so good, that even if they are real, they will be viewed with skepticism by many. The chemisorption value of 5.8 liters of hydrogen per gram of carbon that Dr. Baker claimed at the time of his proposal has now been surpassed many times. Dr. Baker has reported reproducible hydrogen take-up levels as high as 30 liters per gram, depending on fiber structure. The fibers are loaded with hydrogen at ambient temperature using a pressurized feed at levels of about 600--900 psi. The hydrogen will be retained at pressure, but can apparently be essentially totally recovered upon pressure release. This paper reports the findings from the trip to Northeastern.