Fuel gauge for hydrogen storage media

A hydrogen storage container comprising:

• a) an enclosed canister having a wall and at least one outlet opening for charging and discharging hydrogen gas;
• b) a metal hydride material contained within said canister, said material being capable of absorbing and desorbing hydrogen gas;
• and
• c) a gauge for measuring the capacity of hydrogen that remains absorbed with said metal hydride material and is available for discharge through said at least one outlet opening,
• wherein said gauge further comprises a pressure gauge in fluid communication with the enclosed canister, said pressure gauge having a plurality of scales for reading the amount of hydrogen stored within said hydride material, each said scale being indicative of the amount of stored hydrogen at different temperatures.

A hydrogen storage container comprising:

• a) an enclosed canister having a wall and at least one outlet opening for charging and discharging hydrogen gas;
• b) a metal hydride material contained within said canister, said material being capable of absorbing and desorbing hydrogen gas, and including a porous matrix disposed within said metal hydride material for providing efficient distribution of hydrogen gas to said metal hydride material and further being free of a non-hydrogen absorbing binder or other material capable of measuring a characteristic of the hydride material or of the hydrogen capacity in the system;
• and
• c) a gauge for directly measuring the capacity of hydrogen that remains absorbed within said metal hydride material and that is available for discharge through said at least one outlet opening.