Reimagining future energy systems: Overview of the US program to maximize energy utilization via integrated nuclear-renewable energy systems

A sustainable, balanced energy portfolio is necessary for a country's continued economic growth. This portfolio must collectively be able to provide reliable, resilient electricity at stable, affordable prices. Nuclear energy is an important contributor to global clean energy supply, both as a primary source and by complementing and enabling other clean energy sources. As we look to the design and operation of future energy systems, we see an increasing need to think differently about how we utilize our energy resources to meet all of our energy needs—not just electricity but also industrial and transportation demands. Resource utilization in light of a broader desire to reduce environmental impacts leads us to consider transforming how we use nuclear energy, which currently provides more than half of the nonemitting electricity generated in the United States. A paradigm shift is required to develop optimal energy generation and use configurations that embrace novel approaches to system integration and process design. The US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) program on Integrated Energy Systems (IES)—formerly the Nuclear-Renewable Hybrid Energy Systems (N-R HES) program—was established to evaluate potential options for the coordinated use of nuclear and renewable energy generators to meet energy demands across the electricity, industrial, and transportation sectors. These formerly independent sectors are becoming increasingly linked through technology advances in data acquisition, communications, demand response approaches, and control technologies. Advanced modeling and simulation tools can be employed to design systems that better coordinate across these sectors. Implementation of integrated multi-input, multi-output energy systems will allow for expanded use of nuclear energy beyond the grid in a manner that complements the increased build-out of variable renewable energy generation. These integrated systems would provide enhanced flexibility while also providing energy services and supporting the production of additional, nonelectric commodities (eg, potable water, hydrogen, and liquid fuels) via excess thermal and electrical energy from the nuclear system. Increased flexibility of traditionally baseload nuclear systems will support energy security, grid reliability, and grid resilience while maximizing the use of clean energy technologies. This paper provides an overview of current efforts in the United States that assess the potential to increase utilization of nuclear energy systems, in concert with renewable energy generation, via the IES program. Analysis tools and approaches and preliminary analysis results are summarized, and planned experimental activities to demonstrate integrated system performance are introduced.     

Design tool for estimating adsorbent hydrogen storage system characteristics for light-duty fuel cell vehicles

This work combines materials development with hydrogen storage technology advancements to address onboard hydrogen storage challenges in light-duty vehicle applications. These systems are comprised of the vehicle requirements design space, balance of plant requirements, storage system components, and materials engineering culminating in the development of an Adsorbent System Design Tool that serves as a preprocessor to the storage system and vehicle-level models created within the Hydrogen Storage Engineering Center of Excellence. Computational and experimental efforts were integrated to evaluate, design, analyze, and scale potential hydrogen storage systems and their supporting components against the Department of Energy 2020 and Ultimate Technical Targets for Hydrogen Storage Systems for Light Duty Vehicles. Ultimately, the Adsorbent System Design Tool was created to assist material developers in assessing initial design parameters that would be required to estimate the performance of the hydrogen storage system once integrated with the full fuel cell system.     

Emerging technologies by hydrogen: A review

The majority of energy being used is obtained from fossil fuels, which are not renewable resources and require a longer time to recharge or return to its original capacity. Energy from fossil fuels is cheaper but it faces some challenges compared to renewable energy resources. Thus, one of the most potential candidates to fulfil the energy requirements are renewable resources and the most environmentally friendly fuel is Hydrogen. Hydrogen is a clean and efficient energy carrier and a hydrogen-based economy is now widely regarded as a potential solution for the future of energy security and sustainability. Hydrogen energy became the most significant energy as the current demand gradually starts to increase. It is an important key solution to tackle the global temperature rise. The key important factor of hydrogen production is the hydrogen economy. Hydrogen production technologies are commercially available, while some of these technologies are still under development. Therefore, the global interest in minimising the effects of greenhouse gases as well as other pollutant gases also increases. In order to investigate hydrogen implementation as a fuel or energy carrier, easily obtained broad-spectrum knowledge on a variety of processes is involved as well as their advantages, disadvantages, and potential adjustments in making a process that is fit for future development. Aside from directly using the hydrogen produced from these processes in fuel cells, streams rich with hydrogen can also be utilised in producing ethanol, methanol, gasoline as well as various chemicals of high value. This paper provided a brief summary on the current and developing technologies of hydrogen that are noteworthy.     

The self-sufficient solar house in Freiburg

The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems has built a completely self-sufficient solar house (SSSH) in Freiburg, Germany. The entire energy demand for heating, domestic hot water, electricity, and cooking is supplied by the sun. The combination of highly efficient solar systems with conventional means to save energy is the key to the successful operation of the house. Seasonal energy storage is accomplished by electrolysis of water and pressurized storage of hydrogen and oxygen. The energy for electricity and hydrogen generation is supplied by solar cells. Hydrogen can be reconverted to electricity with a fuel cell or used for cooking. It also serves as a back-up for low temperature heat. There are provisions for short term storage of electricity and optimal routing of energy. The SSSH is occupied by a family. An intensive measurement program is being carried out. The data are used for the validation of the dynamic simulation calculations, which formed the basis for planning the SSSH.     

可再生能源制氢综合能源管理平台研究

  目的  氢能是一种绿色高效的清洁能源,可以通过多种方式转化为电能、热能等加以利用。可再生能源制氢是实现碳达峰、碳中和目标的重要支撑。可再生能源制氢属于新型项目,是电力行业与化工行业的结合,系统间耦合性不强,提高能源综合利用率是可再生能源制氢的研究重点。  方法  文章介绍了当前主要的制氢工艺,对比了灰氢、蓝氢和绿氢的主要特点,阐述了风电及光伏制氢的主要系统,并提出了通过构建综合能源管理平台对可再生能源制氢各系统进行统筹管控的思路。  结果  在综合能源管理平台制定控制策略可以平衡功率,实现最优调度从而减少弃风弃光,而且还可以降低单位制氢成本。  结论  综合能源管理平台可以提高可再生能源制氢的能源综合利用率,对可再生能源制氢项目的推广起到支撑的作用,为可再生能源制氢领域的研究人员提供了重要的参考借鉴     

Application of hydrides in hydrogen storage and compression: Achievements,outlook and perspectives

Metal hydrides are known as a potential efficient, low-risk option for high-density hydrogen storage since the late 1970s. In this paper, the present status and the future perspectives of the use of metal hydrides for hydrogen storage are discussed. Since the early 1990s, interstitial metal hydrides are known as base materials for Ni – metal hydride rechargeable batteries. For hydrogen storage, metal hydride systems have been developed in the 2010s [1] for use in emergency or backup power units, i. e. for stationary applications.With the development and completion of the first submarines of the U212 A series by HDW (now Thyssen Krupp Marine Systems) in 2003 and its export class U214 in 2004, the use of metal hydrides for hydrogen storage in mobile applications has been established, with new application fields coming into focus.In the last decades, a huge number of new intermetallic and partially covalent hydrogen absorbing compounds has been identified and partly more, partly less extensively characterized.In addition, based on the thermodynamic properties of metal hydrides, this class of materials gives the opportunity to develop a new hydrogen compression technology. They allow the direct conversion from thermal energy into the compression of hydrogen gas without the need of any moving parts. Such compressors have been developed and are nowadays commercially available for pressures up to 200 bar. Metal hydride based compressors for higher pressures are under development. Moreover, storage systems consisting of the combination of metal hydrides and high-pressure vessels have been proposed as a realistic solution for on-board hydrogen storage on fuel cell vehicles.In the frame of the “Hydrogen Storage Systems for Mobile and Stationary Applications” Group in the International Energy Agency (IEA) Hydrogen Task 32 “Hydrogen-based energy storage”, different compounds have been and will be scaled-up in the near future and tested in the range of 500 g to several hundred kg for use in hydrogen storage applications.     

Energy life cycle analysis of hydrogen systems

In any overall balance of hydrogen energy systems it is the way in which this energy is generated and the primary energy required to produce the equipment that are of decisive importance. Excerpts from the results of a study entitled “Process Chain Analysis for a Hydrogen Energy System”, commissioned by the Bavarian State Ministry of Economics, Transportation and Technology are presented and commented on.     

Hydrogen energy systems technology study

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Office of Energy Programs initiated the Hydrogen Energy Systems Technology (HEST) Study in the autumn of 1974. The Caltech Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) was made responsible for conducting the study and reporting the results, with active support from several NASA Centres through a Working Panel. Objectives of the study were defined to be the assessment of national needs for hydrogen, based on current uses and visible trends, and determination of the critical research and technology activities required to meet these needs, with attention to economic, social, and environmental considerations, providing a basis for the planning of a hydrogen research and technology program.The HEST Study found current U.S. hydrogen utilization to be dominated by chemical-industry and petroleum-processing applications, and to represent 3% of total energy consumption. The study's projections of hydrogen uses show growth the remainder of this century by at least a factor of five, and perhaps a factor of twenty. New applications in the manufacture of synthetic fuels from coal and directly as an energy storage medium and fuel are expected to emerge later this century. Of these new uses, electric utility energy storage for peak-shaving, supplements to the natural gas supply and special purpose transportation fuel such as aircraft, show promise.The Study concludes that the development and implementation of new means of supplying hydrogen, replacing the use of natural gas and petroleum feedstocks, are imperative. New production technology is essential to support even the lowest growth estimate. Methods based on alternative fossil feedstocks, such as coal and heavy oils, which are less expensive and nearer to technical maturity than non-fossil production systems, should be made operational while these feedstocks are abundant. Concurrently, the long-term tasks of advancing electrolysis technology, researching other water-splitting techniques, and integrating these with developing nuclear and emerging solar primary-energy systems, must be carried on, together with work on hydrogen combustion systems and research in materials and safety engineering. Systems studies and assessments of the economic, social and environmental impacts of hydrogen technology are also called for.     

Constructing an innovative Bio-Hydrogen Integrated Renewable Energy System

Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems (HRES) offer alternative energy options that deliver distributed power generation for isolated loads. However, the production of energy from both wind turbines and solar PV systems is weather-dependent. In this study, we developed an innovative Bio-Hydrogen Integrated Renewable Energy System (BHIRES) based on the integration of hydrogen generation from biomass fermentation, renewable energy power generation, hydrogen generation from water electrolysis, a hydrogen storage device, and a fuel cell providing combined heat and power. BHIRES can provide electric power, thermal energy, and hydrogen, with the additional function of processing biomass waste and wastewater. As indicated by results of the economic analysis conducted in this study, the cost of electricity and the average energy cost of using BHIRES are both lower than those for wind/PV/hydrogen HRES. Therefore, this system is ideal for users in remote areas such as islands, and farms in mountainous areas.     

An overview of hydrogen gas production from solar energy

Hydrogen production plays a very important role in the development of hydrogen economy.Hydrogen gas production through solar energy which is abundant, clean and renewable is one of the promising hydrogen production approaches. This article overviews the available technologies for hydrogen generation using solar energy as main source.Photochemical, electrochemical and thermochemical processes for producing hydrogen with solar energy are analyzed from a technological environmental and economical point of view. It is concluded that developments of improved processes for hydrogen production via solar resource are likely to continue in order to reach competitive hydrogen production costs. Hybrid thermochemical processes where hydrocarbons are exclusively used as chemical reactants for the production of syngas and the concentrated solar radiation is used as a heat source represent one of the most promising alternatives: they combine conventional and renewable energy representing a proper transition towards a solar hydrogen economy.     

Hydrogen from solar energy,a clean energy carrier from a sustainable source of energy

Solar energy is going to play a crucial role in the future energy scenario of the world that conducts interests to solar-to-hydrogen as a means of achieving a clean energy carrier. Hydrogen is a sustainable energy carrier, capable of substituting fossil fuels and decreasing carbon dioxide (CO₂) emission to save the world from global warming. Hydrogen production from ubiquitous sustainable solar energy and an abundantly available water is an environmentally friendly solution for globally increasing energy demands and ensures long-term energy security. Among various solar hydrogen production routes, this study concentrates on solar thermolysis, solar thermal hydrogen via electrolysis, thermochemical water splitting, fossil fuels decarbonization, and photovoltaic-based hydrogen production with special focus on the concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) system. Energy management and thermodynamic analysis of CPV-based hydrogen production as the near-term sustainable option are developed. The capability of three electrolysis systems including alkaline water electrolysis (AWE), polymer electrolyte membrane electrolysis, and solid oxide electrolysis for coupling to solar systems for H₂ production is discussed. Since the cost of solar hydrogen has a very large range because of the various employed technologies, the challenges, pros and cons of the different methods, and the commercialization processes are also noticed. Among three electrolysis technologies considered for postulated solar hydrogen economy, AWE is found the most mature to integrate with the CPV system. Although substantial progresses have been made in solar hydrogen production technologies, the review indicates that these systems require further maturation to emulate the produced grid-based hydrogen.     

Modeling,analysis and control system development for the Italian hydrogen house

This paper provides an analysis of the “Hydrogen from the Sun” project at the “Ecological House” in northern Italy. The modeling and analysis work is being performed in conjunction with the International Energy Agency Hydrogen Implementing Agreement Annex 18: Integrated Systems Evaluation. A customized library of Matlab/Simulink component models is used to simulate the system and evaluate the hydrogen economics and energy production efficiencies. Two control algorithms are developed for the house using a fuzzy logic and an adaptive control strategy. The economic and steady state effects of these two strategies are compared as are the energy sources used to supply the energy demand of the house. The hydrogen production system consists of an electrolyzer, a photo-voltaic collector, and a battery, linked to both a metal hydride and high pressure gas storage system. The hydrogen supplies a fuel cell, which powers a residential estate. The analysis shows the contribution of the different system components to the overall efficiency and cost of hydrogen. However, the control systems presented also have a significant effect on the hydrogen and electricity cost. Reduction of these costs and an increase in system efficiency require optimal use of the hydrogen stored, as well as the optimized distribution of power supply from the generating components. The analysis shows the initial cost of hydrogen to be 9.36 $/kg, with electricity produced at 0.65 $/kWh using a fuzzy logic control system at an electrical efficiency of 50% (of the full hydrogen house system), based on the lower heating value of hydrogen. The result of using an active control strategy is presented.     

HEEP: A new tool for the economic evaluation of hydrogen economy

Under agreement and in collaboration with the Indian BHABHA Atomic Research Centre (BARC), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has just released the newly developed Hydrogen Economic Evaluation Programme (HEEP) software, which can be used to perform economic analysis related to large scale hydrogen production. The software could be used to analyse economics of the most promising processes for hydrogen production. These processes are: high and low-temperature electrolysis, thermo-chemical processes including Sulphur–Iodine (S-I) process, conventional electrolysis and steam reforming. The IAEA-HEEP software is also suitable for comparative studies not only between nuclear and fossil energy sources for hydrogen production but also for solely hydrogen production or cogeneration with electricity. The HEEP models are based on economic, technical as well as chronological inputs, and cost modelling. Modelling will include various aspects of hydrogen economy including storage, transport, and distribution with options to eliminate or include specific details as required by the users.     

H2RES2 simulator. A new solution for hydrogen hybridization with renewable energy sources-based systems

This paper presents a new simulator for Hydrogen hybridization with Renewable Energy based Systems. The aim of this simulator is to provide a new solution for testing different energy management strategies of hydrogen hybridization based on renewable systems, in order to optimize them for implementation. The simulator uses the open architecture philosophy and has been developed in MATLAB^®-SIMULINK environment. Its main feature is calculating technical and economical parameters for a deepened analysis of influences on energy management strategies. It considers each element of the hybrid system and the whole system function. A simulation case shows the proper functioning of the simulator.     

LOCAL OPERATING NETWORKS TECHNOLOGY AIMING TO IMPROVE BUILDING ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM PERFORMANCE SATISFYING THE USERS PREFERENCES

The available Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS), although they contribute to a significant reduction of energy consumption and improvement of the indoor environment, they can only be implemented in new buildings. Their installation in existing buildings is far from being cost effective due to the incompatibility of communication protocols between BEMS designed by various manufacturers and unavoidable modifications for data transmission. On the other hand, current research for energy efficient buildings has proved that although the design and the facilities including BEMS aim to satisfy the thermal and visual comfort plus the air quality demands while minimising the energy needs, they often do not reach their goals due to users interference. Latest trends in designing Intelligent Building Energy Management Systems (IBEMS) offer a Man Machine Interface that could store the users preferences and adapt the control strategy accordingly. The objectives of the present paper are to present the advantages of the use of a man machine interface based on a smart card terminal together with fuzzy control techniques in satisfying the users preferences plus to underline the capabilities that the LON network offers to the design. A fuzzy PID controller is developed to reach the first of the above objectives. The monitoring of the energy consumption along with satisfying the users preferences is achieved by the use of a suitable cost function for the whole system. All the above parameters as well as the cost function are kept between acceptable limits. The overall control system including the cost function is modeled and tested using MATLAB/SIMULINK. The implementation of the control system in an existing building requires interconnection of sensors and actuators installed across the building, is well served by the LonWorks technology due to its high standards and flexibility features.     

The case for solar/hydrogen energy

Since sustainable, technologically-converted solar energy is the likely basis for our post-fossil-energy future, there is a basic need for solar-produced fuels. It is noteworthy that heat and electricity, solely, are being developed as solar-energy delivery means, while historically civilizations depend on fuels. Hydrogen, a clean, efficiently-used fuel, can be readily derived from water using any of a number of both proved and prospective solar-energy conversion technologies—both direct and indirect (hydropower, wind, etc.). Solar/hydrogen (and oxygen) can also extend depleting fossil-energy resources while ameliorating environmental degradation. The Hydrogen Energy System concept is overviewed as background.A recent ‘Solar/Hydrogen Systems Assessment’ delineated early-availability systems based on photovoltaic, thermal/heat-engine, wind and hydropower solar conversion, and associated water electrolysis to yield product hydrogen and oxygen as ‘hydrogen energy’. Involved technologies being highly modular, good economics of equipment manufacture and deployment are inherent, as is early availability and as-needed rates of construction (in contrast, e.g., with nuclear-plant experience). Proved technological means exist for transporting, storing and distributing hydrogen energy to end-users.Most significant, both small-scale (local, dispersed) and large-scale (central, remote) solar/hydrogen generation facilities can be established in balance with prevailing societal-selection dictates. Involving a readily storable, transportable ‘energy currency’, then-existing hydrogen-energy systems can be inter-tied as desired, providing load-management-related economic advantages to both the energy-user and the ‘energy utility’ of that era. Future solar/hydrogen-electric residences might, as is illustrated, buy and sell hydrogen and electricity in a ‘grid-cooperative’ arrangement.The salient operative question concerns the efficacy of ‘conventional wisdom’ in the energy free-market decision-making process. Will early-enough, adequate level-of-effort programmes be implemented to ensure non-disruptive meeting of tomorrow's demand worldwide? In an aura of business-as-usual, solar/hydrogen's timely contribution to ‘picking up the load’ from exhaustible fossil fuels in the face of still-escalating world energy demand is judged most problematic. Consequently, an unprecedented cooperative world effort for the research, development, demonstration and deployment of solar hydrogen energy delivery capabilities is suggested.     

Electricity,hydrogen—competitors,partners?

Electricity, hydrogen—What they have in common, where they are unique.Electricity and hydrogen have in common that they are secondary energies which can be generated from any primary energy (raw materials). Once generated they are environmentally and climatically clean along the entire length of their respective energy conversion chains. Both electricity and hydrogen are grid delivered (with exceptions); they are interchangeable via electrolysis and fuel cell. Both are operational worldwide, although in absolutely dissimilar capacities. And their peculiarities? Electricity stores and transports information, hydrogen does not. Hydrogen stores and transports energy, electricity transports energy but does not store it (in large quantities). For long (i.e., continental) transport routes, hydrogen has advantages. The electricity sector is part of the established energy economy. Hydrogen, on the other hand, takes two pathways: one where it has been in use materially in the hydrogen economy almost since its discovery in the later 18th century; today, it is traded worldwide as a commodity up to an amount of some 50 million tonnes p.a., e.g., in methanol or ammonia syntheses, for fat hardening in the food industry, as a cleansing agent in glass or electronics manufacturing, and the like. And along the other pathway it serves as an energy carrier in the up coming hydrogen energy economy which started with the advent of the space launching business after WW II. Essentially, the hydrogen energy economy deals with the introduction of the, after electricity, now second major secondary energy carrier, hydrogen, together with its conversion technologies, e.g., fuel cells, into portable electronic equipment such as television cameras, laptops, cellular phones, etc., into the distributed stationary electricity and heat supply in the capacity range of kilowatts to megawatts, and into transport vehicles on earth, at sea, in the air, or space-borne. It is never a question of the energy carrier alone, be it either hydrogen or hydrogen reformat. On the contrary, environmentally and climatically clean hydrogen energy technologies along the entire length of the energy conversion chain, from production via storage, transport and distribution to, finally, end use, are what is of overarching importance. Of course, technologies are not energies, but they are as good as energies. Efficient energy technologies provide more energy services from less primary energy (raw materials). Energy efficiency gains are energies! Especially for energy poor, but technology-rich countries, efficiency gains compare well to indigenous energy sources! The trend is clearly visible: increasingly, the world is moving from national fuels to global fuels, and energy technologies serve as their opening valves. CO₂ capture and sequestration technologies bring hydrogen-dependent clean fossil fuels to life, and hydrogen supported fuel cell technology activates dormant virtual distributed power. Both technologies are key for the hydrogen energy economy which, thus, becomes the linchpin of future world energy.     

Comparative transient simulation of a renewable energy system with hydrogen and battery energy storage for residential applications

Energy systems for the building sector nowadays are moving towards using renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power. However, it is nearly impossible to fully develop a multi-generation energy system for a building only relying on these sources without convenient energy storage, backup systems, or connection to the grid. In this work, using TRNSYS software, a model was developed to study the transient behavior of an energy system applicable for residential buildings to supply the heating, cooling, domestic hot water, and electricity in demand. This study contains the comparison of two methods of energy storage, a hydrogen fuel cell/electrolyzer package and a conventional battery system. This study also provides information on environmental impacts and economical aspects of the proposed system. The results show that for an HVAC system when using hydrogen storage system the capital cost is twice the cost of using a battery system. However, the hydrogen system shows better performance when used at higher loads. Hydrogen storage systems show higher performance when used at higher size units.     

Significance of ortho-para hydrogen conversion in the performance of hydrogen liquefaction process

Hydrogen is an energy vector and is produced just like electricity. In order to overcome the shortcomings associated with its low molecular weight and energy density per unit volume, hydrogen is liquefied for storage and transportation purposes. The liquefaction of hydrogen differs from that of other substances as it involves the reactive transformation of its isomeric states. At 25 °C, molecular hydrogen consists of 75% orthohydrogen and 25% of parahydrogen. As the normal boiling point, hydrogen essentially exists in the para-state, which is preferred because of its lower boil-off gas rate. However, the conversion of ortho-to-para hydrogen is an exothermic reaction, and this enthalpy of conversion enhances the total reversible work by about 15%. Little work has been done regarding ortho-to-para hydrogen conversion from the process systems point of view. Therefore, parametric analysis of this vital conversion reaction was studied with potential impact on the performance of cryogenic heat exchangers, reactors configuration and mode of operation, and probable impact on the energy efficiency of the liquefaction process. An alternate approach to simulate the reaction is also proposed. The results show that the current approaches to process design need to be changed. The study opens avenues for more in-depth analysis and optimization approaches to present a holistic framework for future integrated energy systems.     

Hydrogen the fuel for 21st century

Non-Conventional Energy Sources, such as solar and hydrogen energy will remain available for infinite period. One of the reasons of great worry for all of us is reducing sources of conventional energies. The rate of fossil fuel consumption is higher than the rate of the fossil fuel production by the nature. The results will be the scarcity of automobile fuel in the world which will create lot of problems in transport sector. The other aspect is pollution added by these sources in our environment which increases with more use of these sources, resulting in the poor quality of life on this planet. There is constant search of alternate fuel to solve energy shortage which can provide us energy without pollution.Hence most frequently discussed source is hydrogen which when burnt in air produces a clean form of energy. In the last one decade hydrogen has attracted worldwide interest as a secondary energy carrier. This has generated comprehensive investigations on the technology involved and how to solve the problems of production, storage and transportation of hydrogen. The interest in hydrogen as energy of the future is due to it being a clean energy, most abundant element in the universe, the lightest fuel, richest in energy per unit mass and unlike electricity, it can be easily stored. Hydrogen gas is now considered to be the most promising fuel of the future. In future it will be used in various applications, e.g. it can generate Electricity, useful in cooking food, fuel for automobiles, hydrogen powered industries, Jet Planes, Hydrogen Village and for all our domestic energy requirements.Hydrogen as a fuel has already found applications in experimental cars and all the major car companies are in competition to build a commercial car and most probably they may market hydrogen fuel automobiles in near future but at a higher cost compared to gasoline cars but it is expected that with time the cost of hydrogen run cars will decrease with time. Long lasting, light and clean metal hydride batteries are already commercial for lap top computers. Larger capacity batteries are being developed for electrical cars. Hydrogen is already being used as the fuel of choice for space programmes around the world. It will be used to power aerospace transports to build the international space station, as well as to provide electricity and portable water for its inhabitants. Present article deals with the storage and applications of hydrogen in the present energy scenario.