Solving embrittlement is a multi-billion-dollar question. Why hydrogen causes steels to become brittle and crack is the great conundrum of engineers and researchers looking to develop large-scale transport and storage solutions for the hydrogen age – an era which Australia hopes to lead by 2030.

Researchers at the University of Sydney have discovered that adding molybdenum to steel, combined with metal carbides, significantly improves its ability to trap hydrogen, potentially solving the issue of hydrogen embrittlement. This breakthrough, using advanced cryogenic atom probe tomography, could pave the way for large-scale hydrogen transport and storage solutions, essential for transitioning to a hydrogen economy.