Hydrogen Storage: Hydrogen is an inexhaustible energy source that has 2.75 times more combustion energy than gasoline of the same weight, has no toxic effect, can be stored and transported, and can be easily converted to other types of energy. These superior properties have caused hydrogen to rank among the top alternative energy sources of the future. There are some storage problems with the use of hydrogen as fuel in vehicles. Hydrogen can be stored in gas and liquid tanks, physically in nanotubes or chemically in the form of hydrides.
Sodium Borohydride: Sodium borohydride is not flammable / explosive, it is an environmentally friendly product, the sodium metaborate formed as a result of its reaction can be converted into sodium borohydride again, half of the obtained hydrogen comes from sodium borohydride and the other half comes from water, it does not cause any problems in terms of cargo and passenger transport in vehicles. Due to its properties, it has an advantage over other methods of storing hydrogen. In addition to its storage feature, it is known that sodium borohydride can be used as fuel directly in fuel cells.
In the project carried out in cooperation with our Institute and TÜBİTAK MAM Chemistry Institute, know-how has been developed for the production of sodium borohydride, and the production of sodium borohydride with 2 kg / charge capacity in a 12m x 8m closed area at TÜBİTAK MAM campus facility has been established. In another project carried out in cooperation with BOREN and TÜBİTAK MAM Chemistry Institute, it is aimed to establish a pilot facility for metallic sodium production and to create a production information package, and to eliminate the external dependence on sodium input of a possible industrial-scale sodium borohydride production facility to be established in our country.
Fuel Cells: In the project on fuel cell production conducted within the scope of the support provided by our Institute for the creation of technological infrastructure and knowledge for the development of fuel cells within TÜBİTAK MAM Energy Institute, 100 W direct sodium borohydride fuel cell production. In another project carried out in cooperation with our Institute and TÜBİTAK MAM Energy Institute, 1 kW fuel cell module components were produced and system integration As a result, 1 kW fuel cell system was produced. In the project on sodium borohydride fuel cell vehicle, it was aimed to test the competence created within TÜBİTAK MAM in a vehicle concept; integrated on the vehicle within the scope of the project The system that produces hydrogen from sodium borohydride was developed and the fuel cell on the vehicle was fed and the necessary electrical energy was produced for driving the vehicle. hydrogen production system for immediate needs (HUS) have been tried for the first time in Turkey and this first prototype has also been successful in road tests. The vehicle is completely domestic and handmade. The maximum speed of the vehicle has been measured as 80 km / hour and the range of the vehicle as 150 km. The vehicle can travel 50 km with 1 kg of boron hydride.
BOREN-TÜBİTAK MAM Boron and Hydrogen Technologies Competence Center
As a result of the gains obtained from the studies carried out in cooperation with our Institute and TÜBİTAK, products including Hydrogen Principles studies, which have predictable commercialization potential related to the boron-based energy sector and can provide competitive advantage and "BOREN-TÜBİTAK MAM Boron and Energy Applications Competence Center" has been established in order to develop the production technology, to create the necessary knowledge, experience and system for the commercial application of the developed technology, and to cooperate with the application projects in cooperation with manufacturers and practitioners.
Within the scope of the Competence Center, it is aimed to develop and implement concept projects for commercial application in cooperation with competent manufacturers in the application areas of fuel cell systems developed in previous studies. Boron-Based Hydrogen and Fuel Cell System Development for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) In the project, with the development and production of hydrogen production system from sodium borohydride on the UAV, fuel cell design and production suitable for the use of hydrogen In the last stage, it is aimed to carry out UAV integration and tests, in which all subsystems work together. As a result of the work done, the hydrogen generation system, fuel cell and UAV were developed together.
The developed air-cooled self-humidifying fuel cell system was combined with the developed bipolar plates and membrane electrode units to give 200 W power. All systems have been automated and integrated into the UAV as a power source with sodium borohydride fuel, which will provide approximately 4 hours of flight time.
Boron Based Fuel Cell Range Extender for Electric Vehicles
In the project, it is aimed to use hydrogen produced from sodium borohydride in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) type fuel cell and to integrate the fuel cell into Sports Purpose Vehicle (SUV) type vehicle. The output of the project is expected to contribute significantly to increasing the market situation for electric vehicles. The main goal of the electric vehicle, which is produced by a private company and can travel 300 km to 40 kWh with current technologies, is to be able to complete a range of approximately 400-450 km with a single charge by increasing the range of the electric vehicle with sodium borohydride fuel cell by 150 km. Operating a 5 kW fuel cell for 4 hours provides 20 kW of additional energy. 40 g of sodium borohydride is needed to travel 1 km. Sodium borohydride to increase the range It is sufficient to enlarge the tank.
