Judging by how eighties this video is, I assume his design didn't take off. But on a serious note - hydrogen has long been recognized as a potential sustainable fuel source to replace traditional hydrocarbons, but suitably efficient technology for its storage remains out of reach. Hydride cells are certainly a continually researched avenue, alongside many other interesting concepts. Completely unrelated, but did you know that the US government have ~1 billion cubic meters of helium buried under Texas? I find that really cool, that's like a lot of party balloons.
It was first established as a stategic fuel supply for zeppelins in 1925, and later became an important coolant source in 1950s to support Space Race/Cold War efforts probably once airships were defunct [paraphrased from Wikipedia]. It is now basically a stockpile to address the somewhat concerning fact that the world is slowly running out of helium. Slightly scary fact is that just under 20 years ago, the "Helium Privatization Act" mandated that this stockpile was sold off by 2015. Given that's about 40% of the worlds helium, I can only see it as expiditing the inevitable helium shortage. Although you and I will live and die before we run out of helium, in the short term, it's pushing up the price of helium which affects research institutions who rely on liquid helium, not to mention industries such as electronics who also use it.
Yes, basically. It's already being sold off, as apparently the entire project turned out to be quite expensive (not too surprising I suppose), and someone along the way decided the country should make their money back. Unfortunately the other 60% presumably includes resources that are undiscovered, impure (often helium is found as a small fraction in a mixture, not ideal for 'harvest'), or already in the hands of privately owned companies who are selling it at a premium. I think it would be a good move for the US to at least secure a part of their reserves for medical and scientific use - as there is a frightening prospect of losing the use of MRI and NMR technology.