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A safe, low-cost technology for supplying H2 to fuel-cell powered vehicles is being developed by researchers at Nisshin Kasei Co. (Osaka, Japan; www.nisshinkasei.co.jp). Unlike alternative methods that store H2 by adsorption on solid materials at high pressure, Nisshin is utilizing silicon nanoparticles that generate H2 at the point of use simply by reacting them with water. The silicon nanoparticles, which have a diameter of less than 5 nm, were originally developed by professor Hikara Kobayashi at Osaka University (www.sanken.osaka-u.ac.jp). Kobayashi has shown that 1 g of the Si nanoparticles can generate up to 1,600 mL of H2, at high rates of up to 400 mL/min. The particles can be reused after removing the oxide layer, which forms after the reaction with water. These nanoparticles can be made from waste silicon generated in the manufacture of semiconductors and solar cells. Nisshin plans to develop cartridge-type H2 generators, targeting first applications for emergency power generation, and then for fuel-cell vehicles.