Because the transport segment makes up about one-third of all CO2 emissions in the EU (> 1,000 MILL ton), its decarbonization represents a key element in achieving the energy transition. Fuel Cells and Hydrogen (FCH), outperforming batteries in all relevant indicators, is the most promising solution for decarbonizing trucks, buses, ships, trains, large cars, with commercial vehicles being considered the early adopters. By 2030 this new industry has the potential to generate a € 130 bn market only in the EU. The market-entry goal is to fit 5 kg H2 in a gasoline equivalent tank (80 kg/90 l). However, state-of-the-art technology for H2 storage on-board, based on compression at 700 bar, is still disappointing in terms of volumetric density (25 gH2/lsys), preventing a widespread penetration of FCEVs. At least 40 gH2/Lsys is considered a significant milestone (settled by the DOE) to provide the market with an actual FECV replacement to current internal combustion engine vehicles, ICEV. MAST3RBoost will enable a disruptive path to meet these goals based on a new generation of ultraporous materials (ACs and high-density MOF) with H2 delivery capacities 33% higher than current record holders (NU-1103, SNU-70, MOF-5). KPIs already demonstrated are > 9 wt% and 44 gH2/lPS at 100 bar and below. Best candidate materials will be improved with Supervised Machine Learning and industrially produced as pellets or monoliths at a scale beyond 10 kg for the first-time. A brand-new pressure vessel technology of 20+ litres will be fully designed via Digital Twins within the consortium to operate at the optimum thermodynamic (TPS) regime for the materials. This will be the first adsorption-based demonstrator worldwide with a capacity of 1 kg H2, aiming at a system KPI as high as 33 gH2/lsys, and become a record-holder among all H2 storage technologies, with a projected system cost of 1,780 € (5.6 kg H2). MAST3RBoost’s ground-breaking additive manufacturing technology (WAAM) will create lightweight type I vessels with dedicated shapes to better fit on-board specific transportation spaces. In round numbers, the project will produce materials with a projected SAM by 2028 of € 345 MILL. A business case based on a 1,250 ton plant (CAPEX: € 14 MILL) of the new ultraporous material has the potential to support 20,000 unit passenger FCEV (or 2,000 heavy-duty FCEV), with an estimated FOB price <15 €/kg.
