Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are working on a storage system for hydrogen power… an elusive key to unlocking the clean fuel’s unlimited power.

This press release from the agency has more details:

PNNL scientists are using solid ammonia borane, or AB, compressed into small pellets to serve as a hydrogen storage material. Each milliliter of AB weighs about three-quarters of a gram and harbors up to 1.8 liters of hydrogen. Researchers expect that a fuel system using small AB pellets will occupy less space and be lighter in weight than systems using pressurized hydrogen gas, thus enabling fuel cell vehicles to have room, range and performance comparable to today’s automobiles.

“With this new understanding and our improved methods in working with ammonia borane,” said PNNL scientist Dave Heldebrant, “we’re making positive strides in developing a viable storage medium to provide reliable, environmentally friendly hydrogen power generation for future transportation needs.”

Scientists believe once they crack the regulation of the release of energy from the pellets it will be just like pushing the gas pedal.