Will Glasgow Scientists Have Elon Musk Eating His Words?

Hydrogen is often referred to as one of the cleanest energy sources, generating only water molecules as a byproduct of its energy production efforts... This is the case whether it is used as fuel to produce electricity or leveraged in fuel cells.

Yet, the realities of generating enough hydrogen for use as an energy source are where things get difficult.

First, the most common processes involved in industrial production of hydrogen have proven fundamentally inefficient, losing more than 50%-70% of their energy value in relation to the energy that went into the process of creating the hydrogen in the first place. Second, if we're interested in hydrogen as an energy source, the production of it is currently not even close to a neutral climate neutral energy source because producing hydrogen at scale typically relies overwhelmingly on fossil fuels in the most common production process.

The most common process for hydrogen production is electrolysis – or the use of electricity to split water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen, before releasing them as gases. The intensity of this process requires fossil fuels to generate the electricity necessary to split those molecules and, therefore, the production and use of fossil fuel for the original electricity has a negative impact on the environment.

All of these troubles boil down to one significant business barrier: high cost. This is, in part, likely a source of the lack of enthusiasm exhibited by numerous automotive executives (Elon Musk, Rudolf Krubs, Carlos Ghosn) over the efficacy (or lack of) of hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles, especially when compared to that of electric cars. In fact, Musk referred to fuel cell cars quite colorfully as “bullsh*t” at a speech in Munich back in 2013 (the comment is at around 29 minutes).

But, as published in the September issue of Science, the Scottish scientists from the University of Glasgow have uncovered an improved process in which hydrogen can be produced 30 times faster than any currently available method.

As is the case in electrolysis, the team effectively split water molecules. However, their method dispels the oxygen as a gas and the hydrogen locked in a liquid form that must be exposed to a catalyst to be released. Head researcher Lee Cronin defines it as giving the capacity to “produce hydrogen on demand.”

What’s more, because the process is functional with the lower energy levels afforded by green energies, such as solar photovoltaics and wind, there is significant opportunity for both increased efficiency and reduced cost. “This innovation promises to make electrolysers cheaper, faster, safer and more affordable,” added Cronin.

Currently the team is operating a working prototype that they plan to expand to commercial functionality.