Yeah, no. That's a very well hoed field and has been for a long time without anything to show for it. It works, but that's the best that can be said for it.
"You discover metal hydrides, the metallic equivalent of the organic oxides from your deep, deep foray into organic chemistry. Terms like lithium hydride, lithium aluminum hydride, sodium borohydride, and ammine borane now flow from your lips. You can indeed combine metals like lithium and sodium with hydrogen, and just like with the organic compounds, things get hot. Uh oh, you think. I’ve been here before.
Yes, to get the hydrogen back out, you have to add in all of that heat. And you have to deal with the pressure problem too, because hydrogen is turning back into a gas in a container full of metal. Of course, the heat that came out when you put the hydrogen in is long gone if you actually want to move the metal hydride anywhere too.
And you are only seeing hydrogen representing 1% to 2% of the mass of the metal being taken up."
