The accidental discovery of an aluminum alloy that reacts in an unusual way with water could be the first step towards the easy and convenient use of hydrogen cells for fuel cells and other applications. This discovery can be an alternative to batteries and liquid fuels.

This discovery happened when researchers in one of the research laboratories of the US Army were trying to make a very powerful alloy. In one routine test, the alloy was exposed to water and began to react. This reaction continued for a long time and it was there that they realized that they had reached a solution to one of the most important human problems.

Hydrogen has long been known as a green and clean fuel, but it was very difficult to store and transport it. An important aspect of this discovery is that it can have much more compact systems. A constant problem with hydrogen fuels has been their transportation and storage.

This new alloy can effectively react with water and produce hydrogen. Since this alloy and water are both stable and easily soluble, they can be used as a very suitable fuel.

This new alloy (which the group is currently patenting), consists of a dense powder with grains of aluminum and one or more other metals arranged in a specific nanostructure. Adding water to this powder produces aluminum oxide (or its hydroxide) and a large amount of hydrogen with very high efficiency. Compared to lithium batteries, this new material carries more energy for the same weight.

So far, the laboratory tests for this substance have been fruitful and according to the researchers, it seems that there is no problem to use it on a larger scale.