APPLICATION NO. PCT/US24/13659 | REFERENCE NO. 23-007PCT

LICENSING OPPORTUNITY:

HYDROGEN FUEL MEMBER AND 

STORING MOLECULAR HYDROGREN

DESCRIPTION

Problem

Stationary hydrogen-powered fuel cells are 

emerging as a solution for delivering clean 

and flexible power. Renewable energypowered electrolysis can generate hydrogen 

for the fuel cells, but use may require multiple 

days’ worth of stored hydrogen to smooth 

renewable-energy variability. Storage is also 

needed in cases where hydrogen is used as 

a backup power system, with a necessary 

target storage duration of 96 hours to meet the 

requirements set by the United States National 

Fire Protection Association. This presents a 

challenge, as compressed gas or cryogenic 

hydrogen storage is operationally expensive 

and inefficient at large scales for these storage 

durations, and salt caverns proposed for 

storage are not widely available and require 

pipelines to make them suitable for significantly 

larger applications. As such, much work has 

been conducted to identify material-based 

solutions for large scale hydrogen storage that 

operate at lower pressures and noncryogenic 

temperatures. Additionally, in most low 

temperature hydrogen storage conditions, 

hydrogen is naturally lost from storage tanks 

in the form of “boil-off.” These boil-off events 

are costly, and materials that can effectively 

capture boil-off hydrogen are of great need.

Invention

NIST has developed a new metal-organic 

framework (MOF) that can be utilized 

for stationary hydrogen storage for longduration energy supply. It has fast delivery 

rates and displays significant uptake at 

non-cryogenic temperature and does not 

require high pressure. Additionally, given the 

MOF’s adsorption profile of hydrogen (and 

its isotopes) with temperature, the MOF is an 

ideal candidate for hydrogen boil-off capture.

BENEFITS

Commercial Application

Large-scale stationary storage of hydrogen 

at moderate temperatures and pressures. 

Large scale hydrogen storage is relevant to 

the transportation industry, stationary grid 

and emergency electrical power systems, any 

industry seeking use of hydrogen fuel cells, 

or any industry seeking a scalable hydrogen 

storage reservoir. Capture of “boil-off” 

hydrogen is relevant to any industry looking 

to mitigate hydrogen loss during storage.

tpo@nist.gov | www.nist.gov/tpo

NIST Technology Partnerships Office

National Institute of Standards and Technology

100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-2200
APPLICATION NO. PCT/US24/13659 | REFERENCE NO. 23-007PCT

LICENSING OPPORTUNITY:

HYDROGEN FUEL MEMBER AND 

STORING MOLECULAR HYDROGREN

Competitive Advantage

The new MOF is one of the simplest and lowest-cost known. The MOF has very practical attributes 

sought for industrially utilized materials, such as withstanding pelletization, being air-stable, exhibiting 

impressive H2 adsorptive properties at noncryogenic temperatures, and being derived from cheap 

commodity chemicals. Given the remarkable performance of the MOF in these important areas, as well 

as its alluring scalability attributes, this is a disruptive technology.

ALF figure to the left where 

1 = coordinate directions; 

2 = formate anions; 

3 = metal center; 

4 = small cavity; and 

5 = large cavity

tpo@nist.gov | www.nist.gov/tpo

NIST Technology Partnerships Office

National Institute of Standards and Technology

100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-2200