Abstract
Metal hydride (MH) thermal sorption compression is one of the more important applications of the metal hydrides. The present paper reviews recent advances in the field based on the analysis of the fundamental principles of this technology. The performances when boosting hydrogen pressure, along with two- and three-step compression units are analyzed. The paper includes also a theoretical modeling of a two-stage compressor aimed at both describing the performance of the experimentally studied systems, but, also, on their optimization and design of more advanced MH compressors. Business developments in the field are reviewed for the Norwegian company HYSTORSYS AS and the South African Institute for Advanced Materials Chemistry. Finally, future prospects are outlined presenting the role of the metal hydride compression in the overall development of the hydrogen driven energy systems. The work is based on the analysis of the development of the technology in Europe, USA and South Africa.