New Solar-powered Invention Makes Hydrogen Fuel Out of Thin Air

Li stated that hydrogen is the best clean energy, as long as there are renewable energy sources to electrolyze it.

It can produce up to 93 lits per square metre of hydrogen an hour. Li stated that if you have 10 square metres of this unit you can power your entire house to replace natural gas consumption at home for heating and cooking.

Although the prototypes are small, the team plans to make units of 1 sq metre or 10 sq meters in the next year.

Researchers believe the device could prove useful in areas where it is difficult to find liquid water for hydrogen production. Li stated that large parts of the globe have water shortage problems. “When there is a lot of renewable energy, such as solar or wind, you don’t always have enough water to produce hydrogen.

Dr. Kim Beasy, from Swinburne University’s Victorian Hydrogen Hub, did not participate in the research. She said that hydrogen fuel, although important, was not an all-purpose solution to net zero. She said, “We are beginning to understand that hydrogen will be one piece of a puzzle.”

“It will provide us with direction out some pretty difficult-to-mitigate industries like transport. At the moment, we have no other choice than diesel… hydrogen is a great option.”

The necessary economies of scale could not be achieved with clean hydrogen immediately, Beasy stated. He cited the high price of conventional hydrogen electrolyzers. We need more government support and subsidies to lower the cost of this technology.

The study was published by Nature Communications.