During the last years, the power densities of automotive fuel cell systems have been raised dramatically. However, a major technology improvement is still needed for the on-board fuel storage system since hydrogen exhibits a rather low volumetric energy density (regardless whether it is stored as a liquid at cryogenic temperatures or as a compressed gas). Furthermore, the cost for current hydrogen containers is far from what gasoline tanks cost. Therefore, alternatives like solid-state absorbers of hydrogen (e.g. metal hydrides or complex hydrides) are investigated for their feasibility by the car industry. These kinds of systems show very high volumetric storage densities on a materials basis. Unfortunately, the host compounds are usually quite heavy and thus possess a low gravimetric storage density. Also, the thermodynamics and kinetics of the absorption/desorption reactions and their impact on the tank design in general (and on the heat management in particular) have to be considered. Within the framework of this paper, the properties of the most promising solid-state storage systems are discussed and compared to those of the liquid and compressed gaseous hydrogen technologies. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.