The University of Calabria-led NoMaH Novel Materials for Hydrogen Storage project, which also includes Politecnico di Torino, Politecnico di Bari, Alma Mater Studiorum di Bologna, and Rina Consulting, came in first place among the funding proposals accepted by the Ministry of Ecological Transition (Mite) for the topic of “Innovative technologies for the storage and transport of hydrogen and its transformation into derivatives.”
Out of a total budget for the tender of 20 million euros, which was set aside for public research bodies and of which 40% was set aside for those in the southern Italian regions, 3,128,012.47 euros were funded.
The project team, which includes the Politecnico di Torino, the DENERG Energy Department, the Interdepartmental Center on Energy’s “Energy Center Lab,” and the research team of the DISAT Department of Applied Science and Technology under the direction of Professor Alessandro Monteverde, will work on the creation of a new compact reactor for ammonia cracking with the goal of decentralizing hydrogen production. Professor Andrea Lanzini and Doctor Francesco Demetrio Minuto will work on scaling up a hybrid hydrogen storage system based on solid matrices and exploring its potential for use in stationary civil and industrial applications for DENERG.
The NoMaH project’s main goal is to encourage the production and consumption of hydrogen through the research and development of new technological solutions for its storage. Research on hydrogen is essential to achieving the goals of decarbonization and energy independence that is demanded by the current global geopolitical context. Therefore, NoMaH aims to meet the actual energy requirements of small production districts and “energy communities,” groups of people, organizations, and companies that work to produce “zero kilometer” energy.
In addition, there is still a huge disconnect between the technologies that exist for storing hydrogen and the standards that must be met for its use in terms of safety, adaptability, compactness, and environmental sustainability. By combining the partners’ expertise in materials science and engineering, the project’s multidisciplinary approach will enable the development of new materials and devices to create small- and medium-sized hybrid storage systems, capable of operating in circumstances that minimize energy costs and issues pertaining to the safety of their use.
