A semitechnical route (optimized by BASF SE) to synthesize MOF-74/174-M (M = Mg2+, Ni2+) efficiently in ton-scale production is presented with the goal of mobile and stationary gas storage applications especially for hydrogen as future energy carrier. In addition, a new member of these series of materials, MOF-184-M (M = Mg2+, Ni2+) is introduced using ligand exchange strategy in order to produce a more porous analogue (possessing large aperture) without loss of crystallinity. This family comprising MOF-74/174/184 are characterized systematically for hydrogen adsorption properties by volumetric measurements with a Sieverts' apparatus. Replacing the linker by a longer one results in an increase of the BET area from 984 to 3154 m(2)/g and an enhancement of the excess cryogenic (77 K) hydrogen storage capacity from 1.8 to 4.7 wt%. The heat of adsorption of linker exchanged MOF-174/184 (as a function of uptake) shows similar values to the parent MOF-74, indicating successful construction of expanded MOFs in large scale production. Finally, a usable capacity of these MOFs is investigated for mobile application, revealing that the increasing surface area without strong binding metal sites through longer linker exchange is one of important parameters for improving usable capacity. (C) 2016 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.