A team of researchers led by the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) in China has reportedly designed a first-of-its-kind prototype of a gas-solid hydride ion battery. 

It is a device that pulls off a stunning double tech: it stores both electricity and hydrogen simultaneously at room temperature and under ordinary pressure.

Most notably, this co-storage design achieves a remarkable hydrogen energy efficiency of 93.9 percent, paving the way for a more efficient and integrated clean energy grid.

“The new battery achieved 93.9 percent energy efficiency, which is one-third higher than traditional thermal hydrogen storage methods,” Chen Ping, a researcher at DICP, told People’s Daily Online. 

How it works

The development shifted away from lithium. This battery runs on hydride ions — hydrogen atoms packed with an extra electron. While highly energetic, these ions are unstable. 

The report stated that the DICP team has been chasing this concept since 2018, finally cracking the code in 2023 with a material that allowed the ions to move steadily. Now, they have wrapped that chemistry into a working all-solid-state battery using magnesium metal and hydrogen gas as the electrodes.

At the center of this innovation is a reversible chemical reaction that enables the prototype battery to serve as both a power source and a fuel tank. 

Using magnesium metal and hydrogen gas as its two electrodes, the system acts like a chemical sponge. During discharge, hydrogen gas converts into highly energetic hydride ions that bond with the magnesium to form a stable, solid metal hydride. 

When the battery is plugged in to charge, this entire process reverses, releasing the hydrogen gas back into the atmosphere. Interestingly, the device simultaneously stores electricity and hydrogen without the need for dangerous high-pressure tanks, as it locks the volatile gas into a solid state during daily operation.

In laboratory testing, the prototype demonstrated resilience and power density, operating seamlessly over a wide temperature range from -20 to 90 degrees Celsius (194 F).

Reportedly, it achieved a massive initial discharge capacity of 1,526 milliamp-hours per gram (mAh/g). Plus, it demonstrated durability by retaining over 70 percent of that capacity after 60 charge-discharge cycles. 

For practical viability, the researchers stacked 10 of these individual cells into a larger battery pack, which successfully generated over 2.4 volts and illuminated an LED bulb.

Large-scale storage

Conventional hydrogen storage requires energy-intensive infrastructure such as high-pressure tanks or deep-freeze cryogenic cooling. This new battery operates safely at room temperature and normal atmospheric pressure. 

The system also overcomes the volatile risks of gas storage entirely by chemically locking hydrogen into a solid metal hydride during both charging and discharging.

Overall, it eliminates the need for expensive, specialized containment equipment, offering a simpler, more cost-effective path to clean energy storage.

“Compared with other hydrogen storage technologies, this co-storage system delivers high hydrogen energy efficiency and may find great uses in mobile or stationary hydrogen utilization scenarios,” the team noted. 

Up next, the research team is focused on refining the technology to prepare it for commercial and industrial use. They plan to continue their efforts to improve the battery’s overall performance, enhance its long-term durability, and develop superior materials to optimize energy storage.

The study was published in the journal Joule.