Storing hydrogen is a bit of a problem, particularly when looking at ways to store hydrogen for fuel-cell powered vehicles. Hydrogen is difficult to store in tanks because it has a tendency to be quite explosive and researchers worldwide are currently looking into ways to stabilise the hydrogen by adding elements that bond with it.

One of the most promising looking solutions recently has been carbon nanotubes. However this is a high-tech solution which is also quite costly.

Researchers at the University of Delaware in Newark have found a potential low-tech version of carbon nanotubes in the form of chicken feathers. The team discovered that heated chicken feather fibres can be heated to 400 degrees C without burning. This process then resulted in stable, porous carbonised fibres.

When these fibres were cooled to -266 degrees C, the material could store just under 2 percent of its weight in hydrogen. This figure is almost as much as carbon nanotubes can hold. Chicken feathers are a waste product in Delaware therefore the research is exciting because it not only could provide a cheap alternative to help store hydrogen but it also could help turn waste into a useful product.

The only downside of the chicken feathers and carbon nanotubes are that they both currently fall short of the Department of Energy’s target of 6.5 percent.

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