Hydrogen is increasingly seen as a way to store renewable energy, decarbonise heavy industry and support cleaner transport. Not all hydrogen is low carbon, however, and its “colour” depends on how it is produced.
Green hydrogen, made by splitting water with renewable electricity, is the cleanest option but remains expensive and relatively slow to produce. Korean researchers say a new electrochemical catalyst could change that, effectively creating a “new colour” of hydrogen with an even lower footprint.
A team led by Professor Jin Young Kim at Seoul National University, with colleagues at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology and Kookmin University, has designed a replacement for platinum in electrolysis. Platinum is a costly precious metal that also degrades quickly, limiting large scale deployment.
The newly engineered catalyst uses only a small amount of precious metals and is built around a ruthenium based nanocluster with a core shell structure. In tests it delivered higher efficiency and greater stability than platinum, making it a more realistic option for commercial systems.
The core shell nanocluster could be used in hydrogen power plants, industrial applications and cleaner transport systems. It may also support fuel cells for hydrogen powered cars.
With this catalyst, hydrogen could be produced using just water, oxygen and electricity, potentially making it even “greener” than today’s green hydrogen. The researchers stress that further development is still needed before it can be rolled out at scale.
South Korea is already pushing ahead on hydrogen, opening new 2025 tenders to expand hydrogen based power production. The team says advances like this will be vital if hydrogen is to deliver on its promise for energy security and industrial decarbonisation.
Korean scientists create catalyst for super green hydrogen appeared first on Energy Live News.