Technology

Hydrogen is an ideal clean fuel and has, weight-for-weight more energy than any other. However, it is a gas and squeezing it into a small volume so that it can be used in vehicles or electronics is the last remaining challenge before hydrogen can be adopted as a practical energy.The Cella technology is based around the encapsulation and nano-structuring of chemical hydrides in plastic. This means that they can be handled in air, and allows the hydrogen to be released quickly and cleanly upon heating. We make them into plastic like pellets; heating one gram of Cella’s pellets will produce one litre of hydrogen (at normal pressures and temperatures).

Cella’s hydrogen storage is safe, simple to use and inexpensive.
Although hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe it does not occur naturally on our planet. Storing hydrogen up to now has required either high pressure storage cylinders at up to 700 times atmospheric pressure (700 bar or 10,000 psi) or super-cooled liquids at -253°C (-423°F). Neither is practical on a large scale as these hydrogen storage methods both require large amounts of energy to either pressurize or cool the hydrogen, and present significant safety risks.

High hydrogen content – exceeds US Department of Energy targets

Cella's materials are already performing at 9wt% weight percentage of hydrogen, which when packaged into systems, like those for the battery replacement work or when used in vehicles, they approach the DOE’s 2017 target of 5.5 weight % hydrogen.

Packaged in a regular shaped fuel tank or container

The Cella Energy materials are can be stored safely at ambient temperatures and pressures; this means that the Cella Energy hydrogen storage materials can be packaged in a regular shaped fuel tank. They do not require large heavy cylinders that are designed to withstand high pressures normally associated with hydrogen storage.

Low-cost

The Cella Energy hydrogen storage materials can be manufactured using existing large scale industrial manufacturing processes; processes that are cheap and widely used. Cella is working with chemical firms to develop intellectual property to drive the costs of the raw materials down further.