#7 – Dr Valeska Ting on smart nanomaterials for hydrogen storage

Today's episode features Dr Valeska Ting who is a Reader in Smart Nanomaterials at the University of Bristol and is researching the use of nanoporous materials for hydrogen storage. Using hydrogen as a fuel source has many benefits. Due to its excellent energy density, hydrogen has long been hailed as an alternative to fossil fuels, but it's also an excellent means of storing renewable energy from solar or wind sources. One of the challenges of storing hydrogen is its low density, meaning that large volumes are required to store efficient amounts of hydrogen to be able to use it as a fuel. This is precisely where Valeska’s research enters the picture. The nanoporous materials that Valeska is working on can increase the density of hydrogen by a factor of a 1000, and therefore provide a key stepping stone towards more efficient hydrogen-powered vehicles. In this episode, Valeska and I talk about multiple aspects of this technology including:

• what nanoporous materials are and how they work
• how they can be used to create multifunctional materials
• what scientific challenges she is addressing to scale-up and improve their performance, and
• how they could be applied to design lighter hydrogen tanks for rockets and aircraft

If you want to learn more about the topics discussed in this episode, then you can find show notes with links to more in-depth material on the aerospace engineering blog. The Aerospace Engineering Blog Facebook site is the best place to get in touch with me if you have suggestions for the podcast or want to leave comments about this episode. Thanks a lot for listening!

This episode of the Aerospace Engineering Podcast is sponsored by SAMPE North America. SAMPE is a global professional society that has been providing educational opportunities on advanced materials for more than 70 years. SAMPE’s network of engineers is a key facilitator for the advancement of aerospace engineering by enabling information exchange and synergies between aerospace companies. To find out how SAMPE can help you learn more about advanced materials and process, consider attending the SAMPE 2018 Technical Conference and Expo in Long Beach, California.