Alternative energy resources such as hydrogen and methane gases are becoming increasingly important for the future economy. A major challenge for using hydrogen is to develop suitable materials to store it under a variety of conditions, which requires systematic studies of the structures, stability, and kinetics of various hydrogen-storing compounds. Neutron scattering is particularly useful for these studies. We have developed high-pressure/low-temperature gas/fluid cells in conjunction with neutron diffraction and inelastic neutron scattering instruments allowing in situ and realtime examination of gas uptake/release processes. We studied the formation of methane and hydrogen clathrates, a group of inclusion compounds consisting of frameworks of hydrogen-bonded H2O molecules with gas molecules trapped inside the cages. Our results reveal that clathrate can store up to four hydrogen molecules in each of its large cages with an intermolecular H2-H2 distance of only 2.93 Å. This distance is much shorter than that in the solid/metallic hydrogen (3.78 Å), suggesting a strong densification effect of the clathrate framework on the enclosed hydrogen molecules. The framework-pressurizing effect is striking and may exist in other inclusion compounds such as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Owing to the enormous variety and flexibility of their frameworks, inclusion compounds may offer superior properties for storage of hydrogen and/or hydrogen-rich molecules, relative to other types of compounds. We have investigated the hydrogen storage properties of two MOFs, Cu3[Co(CN)6]2 and Cu3(BTC)2 (BTC ؍ benzenetricarboxylate), and our preliminary results demonstrate that the developed neutron-scattering techniques are equally well suited for studying MOFs and other inclusion compounds.framework-pressurizing effect ͉ hydrogen storage ͉ inelastic neutron scattering ͉ neutron diffraction E ver-increasing fossil energy consumption and associated global environmental concerns have provoked intensive searches for alternative energy resources. Gas hydrates (clathrates) have been proposed as one of these sources of energy; they are crystalline compounds in which a gas molecule guest is physically incorporated into hydrogen-bonded, cage-like ice host frameworks. Natural clathrates have been found worldwide in permafrost and ocean-floor sediments, as well as in the outer solar system (the moon, comets, Mars, satellites of the gas giant planets), and contain primarily methane (CH 4 ) and minor amounts of ethane (C 2 H 6 ), propane (C 3 H 8 ), and other gases (isobutene, normal butane, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide) (1). Naturally occurring hydrates are difficult to study, and much remains to be learned about their crystal structures, bonding mechanisms, thermodynamics, chemical and mechanical stability, reaction with sediments, and kinetics of formation and decomposition. Hydrogen in the form of H 2 , the most abundant gas in the universe, is considered to be one of the most promising alternatives to fossil energy, beca...