A new method of using biomass and solar energy has broken a barrier in the amount of voltage needed to produce green hydrogen via electrolysis.
For the first time, researchers have developed a process that operates at a total cell potential of less than a volt; in fact, the new method requires a minimum of about a fifth of a volt of electricity to split water, enabling substantial H2 production at only 0.5 V. That translates to only about 10 kWh of electricity per kilogram of hydrogen produced, which is a sixth of the electricity requirements for the current state-of-the-art, claims study leader Meenesh Singh, an associate professor of chemical engineering at the Univ. of Illinois, Chicago.
Because electricity costs are the main driver of the cost of hydrogen production, the new method could reduce the cost of green hydrogen from the current $6 to $7 per kg to less than the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s 10-year goal — set in 2021 — of $1 per kg.
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