<p><img src="https://static1.businessinsider.com/image/6026b6e92edd0f001a8d58d3-1600/ifam-hydrogen-powered-drives-for-e-scooters-pic-1.jpg" border="0" alt="powerpaste hydrogen fuel" data-mce-source="Fraunhofer IFAM"></p><p></p><bi-shortcode id="summary-shortcode" data-type="summary-shortcode" class="mceNonEditable" contenteditable="false">Summary List Placement</bi-shortcode><p>As the devastating potential impacts of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/climate-change-in-the-next-decade-2019-11#scientists-attribute-the-increasing-frequency-of-record-breaking-temperatures-unprecedented-ice-melt-and-extreme-weather-shifts-to-greenhouse-gas-emissions-1">climate change</a> become increasingly obvious, many are turning away from fossil fuels to power their vehicles and looking for alternatives.</p><p>The answer may lie in the hydrogen industry, which is projected to generate <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-hydrogen-fuel-industry-explainer-2020-1">$2.5 trillion</a> in revenue by 2050 and to provide <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hydrogen-fuel-cell-cars-teslas-biggest-threat-2019-12'utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sf-bi-main&utm_source=facebook.com">hard competition</a> to Elon Musk's Tesla-produced <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tesla-likely-20-million-electric-vehicles-year-2030-2020-9">electric cars</a>.</p><p>A team at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM in Germany has now developed a hydrogen paste, POWERPASTE, that may be easier to use especially in smaller vehicles.</p><p><img src="https://static2.businessinsider.com/image/6026b795b3c2a800183cca09-1600/ifam-hydrogen-powered-drives-for-e-scooters-pic-2.jpg" border="0" alt="TRL 5 demonstrator powerpaste hydrogen" data-mce-source="Fraunhofer IFAM"></p><h2>Hydrogen-powered motorbikes and scooters</h2><p>In 2018, the French startup Pragma Industries began selling <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/r-french-startup-launches-hydrogen-powered-bicyles-2018-1">hydrogen-powered bikes</a>.</p><p>However, they were too expensive for the consumer market at over $9,000 per bike and $36,000 for a charging station.</p><p>POWERPASTE might be able to solve that problem, with the substance created from magnesium base and stored in the vehicle in the form of a cartridge.</p><p>All drivers need to do to refuel is swap out the old cartridge for a new one and fill a tank with water.</p><p>"POWERPASTE stores hydrogen in a chemical form at room temperature and atmospheric pressure to be then released on demand," institute research associate Dr. Marcus Vogt said in a <a href="https://www.fraunhofer.de/en/press/research-news/2021/february-2021/hydrogen-powered-drives-for-e-scooters.html">press release</a>.</p><p>As the paste only begins to decompose at temperatures of around 480 degrees Fahrenheit, researchers said drivers didn't need to worry about leaving their vehicles out in the hot sun.</p><p><img src="https://static5.businessinsider.com/image/5f806fdd4c3b2e0019bba1b0-2400/4X3A9393.jpg" border="0" alt="ZeroAvia's world's first hydrogen-electric passenger plane flight" data-mce-source="ZeroAvia" data-mce-caption="The world's first hydrogen-electric passenger plane flight." data-link="https://www.zeroavia.com/press-release-25-09-2020"></p><h2>Fuel for the future</h2><p>"POWERPASTE... has a huge energy storage density," said Vogt. "It is substantially higher than that of a 700 bar high-pressure tank. And compared to batteries, it has ten times the energy storage density."</p><p>The researchers also pointed out that the range of the paste can be compared with gasoline and may even exceed it.</p><p>They suggested that this could make it a viable option for cars or in portable fuel cells on camping trips, and could significantly extend the possibilities of drone usage.</p><p>The hydrogen industry looks set to grow significantly in the coming years.</p><p>Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates have already backed the startup <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/insider-energy-big-oils-big-loss-amazons-hydrogen-bet-2021-2">ZeroAvia</a>, which is developing hydrogen-powered flights.</p><p>In 2016, Germany invested <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/r-germany-to-spend-250-mln-euros-on-hydrogen-car-support-scheme-die-welt-2016-12">$265 million</a> in hydrogen cars and with the rise of viable alternatives, other countries may now follow suit.</p><p>The institute is now building a pilot plant at the Fraunhofer Project Center for Energy Storage and Systems in the German city of Braunschweig.</p><p>Scheduled to open later this year, they estimate an annual production capacity of four tonnes of POWERPASTE.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/annette-wallgren-renewable-energy-empowering-women-2021-2" >How renewable energy could open the door for economic empowerment for women</a></strong></p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/car-bike-tesla-amazon-gates-bezos-climate-change-fuel-drone-2021-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story »</a></p>
Click here to read full news..