Ping-pong powered cars?

Storing hydrogen in small capsules the size of ping-pong balls could provide a safer way for hydrogen to power vehicles, according to a professor at Uppsala University in Sweden.

Astronautics professor Lars Stenmark has proposed that such enclosures mitigate the risk of fire and explosion when using hydrogen as a fuel, according to the Times of India.

"By storing the gas in round, spherical form, it can withstand twice the pressure that a cylindrical form can," he told the paper.

"If the car crashes and the tank breaks, the hydrogen-filled balls would just spread out and roll away, and the gas from any broken balls would simply seep out and disappear into the atmosphere without causing harm," he said.

Explosions remain among the biggest fears about new fuels for vehicles. Last year, there were questions as to whether natural-gas powered vehicles were too dangerous for widespread use (see Natural gas vehicle tank ruptures, killing driver). 

Carmakers in the cleantech sector have also shied away from hydrogen-fueled vehicle, citing cost, inefficiency and risk of explosion (see Hydrogen cars non-starters).

However, the governments of California and Norway are investing millions to build hydrogen highways to make the vehicles viable (see California putting up $7.7M for hydrogen fueling stations and Norway fast-tracks hydrogen highway).

Stenmark's research isn't the only work out of the university's Angstrom Laboratory getting attention.

Nanotechnology professor Maria Stromme says she has found a way to extract cellulose from green algae bloom and convert it into lithium-free batteries in the form of flexible sheets that could be used by the textile industry. 

And a 15-member team from the department of materials chemistry has discovered a new cathode material for lithium ion batteries using iron and silicon, which gives a longer life and uses cheaper materials than cobalt-based batteries.

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