TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Components: The hydrogen absorbing target (nano polycrystalline) material is a metal hydride.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INSTRUMENTATION AND TESTING - Preferred Method: The method further comprises: providing a magnetron sputtering device having a positive magnetic polarity and a magnetron sputtering device having a negative magnetic polarity, and trapping the electron flux resulting from the deposition step between the magnetron of positive polarity and the magnetron of negative polarity; annealing the hydrogen absorbing nano-foil by laser annealing after the hydrogen absorbing nano-foil is separated from the substrate; heating the hydrogen absorbing nano-foil with a line heater after the hydrogen absorbing nano-foil is separated from the substrate; spooling the hydrogen absorbing nano-foil after the hydrogen absorbing nano-foil is separated from the substrate; modulating the thickness of the hydrogen absorbing nano-foil deposited on the substrate; providing a support spool, and coiling the hydrogen absorbing nano-foil onto the support spool after the hydrogen absorbing nano-foil has been separated from the substrate; coiling the hydrogen absorbing nano-foil to form a coil, having controlled separation between successive annular rings of the coil, after the hydrogen absorbing nano-foil has been separated from the substrate; evacuating the vacuum chamber, and filling the evacuated chamber with hydrogen gas; providing a storage canister within the vacuum chamber, and transferring the hydrogen absorbing nano-foil to the canister for removal from the vacuum chamber without exposure to ambient air to prevent fouling; and a hydrogen absorbing nano-foil coil for hydrogen storage. Modulating the thickness of the hydrogen absorbing nano-foil further comprises providing a take-up belt and varying the speed of the take-up belt. The layer of hydrogen absorbing nano polycrystalline material is deposited using magnetron sputtering. The conveyor belt substrate is fabricated of fluorocarbon resin, where the conveyor belt substrate is textured. Preferred Components: The small radius bend in the conveyor belt substrate is provided by a roller (29). The deposition system is a magnetron sputtering system. The magnetron sputtering system further comprises two magnetron sputtering devices, where a first magnetron sputtering device has a positive magnetic polarity and a second magnetron device has a negative magnetic polarity, so that the electron flux resulting generated by the sputtering system is trapped between the magnetron of positive polarity and the magnetron of negative polarity. The system further comprises: a laser annealer positioned to anneal the hydrogen absorbing nano-foil after separation from the substrate; a line heater positioned to heat the hydrogen absorbing nano-foil after separation from the substrate; a spooler positioned to spool the hydrogen absorbing nano-foil into a coil; a thickness modulation mechanism positioned to modify the thickness of the hydrogen absorbing nano-foil deposited on the substrate by the deposition system; a spool lifter to remove the coil of hydrogen absorbing nano-foil from the spooler; a canister (positioned within the vacuum chamber) to receive and store the hydrogen absorbing nano-foil spool upon removal from the vacuum system; and a defect introduction mechanism, where defects are introduced onto the hydrogen absorbing nano-foil to enhance hydrogen sorption. The belt drive assembly to drive the conveyor belt substrate further comprises: a driving roller having a shaft (28); a driving gear (30) coupled to the shaft; and a stepper motor (32) coupled to the driving gear to control the speed of the belt drive assembly. The delaminating system further comprises a delaminating roller biased to the conveyor belt substrate with sufficient contact to effectively separate the deposited hydrogen absorbing nano-foil from the substrate, a spool assay having a spool comprising many spool slots to receive the hydrogen absorbing nano-foil after separation from the substrate, and a tension assembly comprising a spool array positioned on an upward slope relative to the delaminating roller, where the tension assembly provides pressure to the conveyor belt substrate; and a wedge shaped bar biased to the conveyor belt substrate, two pinch rollers positioned to sandwich the wedge shaped bar and the conveyor belt substrate between them, and a spool assay having a spool comprising many spool slots to receive the hydrogen absorbing nano-foil after separation from the substrate by the wedge shaped bar and pinch rollers.