METAL HYDRIDE DEVICES FOR ENVIRONMENTALLY CLEAN ENERGY TECHNOLOGY

Metal hydrides can be utilized advantageously as working materials in a number of devices which can contribute significantly to an environmentally clean energy technology. Among others, there are heat transformers, heat pumps and refrigerators which allow one to use low-quality thermal energy (e.g. waste heat) to generate high-quality thermal energy or cold, and there are thermal energy storage systems which can be applied in solar energy stations or in industry. This paper describes two developments which shall lead to prototype systems of a heat transformer for industrial use and a thermal energy store for small-scale solar energy stations.