Advances and future directions in sodium borohydride-based hydrogen storage: a comprehensive review

• NaBH 4 hydrogen storage research grew 13.36% annually (2000–2025) • Shift from storage/kinetics to hydrolysis, catalysts, and regeneration. • New themes: hybrid carriers, graphene catalysts, synergistic systems. • Key challenge: scalable, cost-effective, and energy-efficient regeneration. • China leads publications; low global collaboration in some regions. Metal complex hydrides offer high hydrogen storage capacity and safety advantages. This comprehensive review analyzes sodium borohydride (NaBH 4 )-based hydrogen storage studies from 2000 to 2025, confirming strong annual publication growth rate of 13.36% and a mean of 30.1 citations per article, indicating ongoing global interest. Literature has evolved from the early storage and kinetic research to advanced work on hydrolysis, methanolysis, catalysts design, and regeneration techniques on the basis of additives like ZrF 4 , TiF 3 , LaF 3 , and Mg-based materials to maximize hydrogen yield and minimize the energy requirements. Emerging themes like hybrid hydrogen carriers, graphene-supported catalysts, and synergistic systems reflect a shift towards versatile materials and real-world integration. According to the study, despite advances, challenges remain significant in the development of cost-effective, energy-efficient, and scalable regenerative methods. The factorial and thematic analyses reveal overlooked topics like solid-state storage and metathesis reactions. Also, publication trends worldwide, dominated by China (953 articles), reveal collaborative action and global imbalance, with low multiple-country publications registered in countries like Malaysia and India. To bridge gaps and accelerate commercialization, future research must focus on sustainable catalyst discovery, closed-loop technologies, and strengthening of global contribution through fair partnerships and collaborative innovation frameworks, putting NaBH 4 on the table in the future hydrogen economy.