Scientists of the HydroGEN consortium recently made the case for large-scale, low-cost hydrogen production from diverse domestic resources and with advanced electrolyzers in the latest issue of The Electrochemical Society (ECS) Interface.

Published quarterly, Interface magazine contains technical articles about the latest developments in the solid-state, electrochemical science and technology fields. The Winter 2021 “Hydrogen’s Big Shot” issue includes two special features highlighting work from the HydroGEN Advanced Water Splitting Materials and Hydrogen from Next-generation Electrolyzers of Water (H2NEW) consortia.

The HydroGEN lead researchers described the basics of the water splitting hydrogen production pathways the consortium focuses on, outlined their advantages and disadvantages, and identified materials and R&D needs in their article “How to Make Clean Hydrogen AWSM.” The technologies covered were low temperature electrolysis, high temperature electrolysis, photoelectrochemical (PEC), and solar thermochemical (STCH) water splitting.

The second article co-authored by HydroGEN and H2NEW leads, “Hydrogen: Targeting $1/kg in 1 Decade,” encapsulated the demand for advancing electrolysis technology and manufacturing to achieve deep decarbonization and the Hydrogen Energy Earthshot target of $1/kg H2 by 2030. This article described efforts by HydroGEN and H2NEW to advance four types of electrolysis technologies: polymer electrolyte membrane, liquid alkaline, solid oxide (SOEC), and alkaline electrolyte membrane (AEM). The article also explained how next-generation electrolyzers can capture low-cost renewable electrons to provide a service while simultaneously producing affordable hydrogen.

HydroGEN is addressing the materials and R&D challenges for the emerging water splitting pathways of PEC, STCH, AEM electrolysis, and proton-conducting SOEC.

Read more clean hydrogen perspectives in the Electrochemical Society (ECS) Interface Winter 2021 Issue.