Researchers have now created a new material that is solid, stable and can pack a large amount of hydrogen - a promising alternative to conventional fossil fuel but posing a storage challenge - and can thus be used as a fuel.
"Storing hydrogen in solids is a recent development and a promising step toward building a hydrogen economy," said Umit Demirci of Montpellier 2 University in France.
The scientists figured out a way to make a novel crystal phase of a material containing lithium, boron and the key ingredient, hydrogen.
To check how they could get the hydrogen back out of the material, the researchers heated it and found that it released hydrogen easily, quickly and only traces of unwanted by-products.
The study appeared in the journal Chemistry of Materials.