Scientists in Korea have made an exciting breakthrough that could help make green hydrogen more affordable and efficient.
Researchers at the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) have developed a new catalyst that improves the efficiency of hydrogen production while significantly reducing costs.
This advancement brings us one step closer to a future powered by clean and renewable hydrogen energy.
Hydrogen is a clean fuel that can help reduce carbon emissions.
However, producing green hydrogen, which is made using renewable energy, is still expensive.
One of the main reasons is that the process, called anion exchange membrane (AEM) water electrolysis, relies on precious metals like platinum (Pt) and iridium (Ir) as catalysts.
These metals are rare, expensive, and degrade over time, making hydrogen production costly.
To solve this problem, researchers have created a new type of catalyst using base metals, which are more affordable and durable than precious metals. Their findings were published in the journal Applied Catalysis B: Environmental and Energy.
How does the new catalyst work?
The KRISS team developed a high-performance base metal catalyst by adding a small amount of ruthenium (Ru) to a molybdenum dioxide-nickel molybdenum (MoO₂-Ni₄Mo) structure.
🔹 Why molybdenum dioxide? It has excellent electrical conductivity.
🔹 What’s the problem? It breaks down in alkaline environments.
🔹 How did they fix it? By adding tiny ruthenium nanoparticles (less than 3 nanometers in size) to the catalyst’s surface, preventing degradation and increasing durability.
Impressive results
- The new catalyst is 4 times more durable and 6 times more active than existing commercial materials.
- When combined with perovskite-silicon solar cells, it achieved an impressive 22.8% solar-to-hydrogen efficiency, showing strong compatibility with renewable energy sources.
- It also works well in saline water, meaning hydrogen could be produced directly from seawater instead of purified water, reducing desalination costs.
Dr. Sun Hwa Park, a lead researcher at KRISS, emphasized the potential of using seawater instead of purified water for hydrogen production. “If we can use seawater, it will significantly lower costs and make green hydrogen more accessible,” she said.
This groundbreaking research was done in collaboration with Seoul National University and the Korea Institute of Materials Science. With continued advancements, this new catalyst could help speed up the transition to a cleaner, greener hydrogen era.
Source: KSR.
