Duration: 12 months
The project evaluates advanced porous materials. specifically Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) and Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs), as next-generation oxygen storage media for safer, more compact systems in space missions. Current oxygen storage relies on high-pressure (≈300 bar) or cryogenic systems, both posing risks of explosion, leakage, and complex thermal control. Recent advances show that tailored MOFs can enhance oxygen density at far lower pressures; for example, UMCM-152 nearly doubles volumetric density at 140 bar, achieving levels otherwise requiring ~300 bar in conventional tanks.
This feasibility study will define the technical limits, operating conditions, and material properties that enable efficient oxygen storage at near-ambient temperature and pressures up to 100 bar. Using Planck Technologies’ AI-driven materials-screening platform, we will identify the most promising MOF/COF candidates and predict their adsorption performance to maximize storage density while maintaining safety and stability.
Starting from material screening coupled with a fast process model, the study will extend to a system-level feasibility analysis covering the full oxygen storage and utilization cycle. This integrated approach will determine optimal operating windows and design limits, balancing storage capacity, safety margin, and mass.
The outcome will be a validated concept and operating window for adsorption-based oxygen storage, defining realistic targets for later experimental validation and guiding the development of lightweight, low-pressure oxygen units to complement or replace current systems in spacecraft and habitats.
