New Hydrogen-Producing Method Shows Energy-Efficient Route To Manufacture Fuel

What is the News?

Researchers at IIT-Bombay have discovered a new way of producing hydrogen by using magnetized catalysts during electrolysis. This process lowers energy consumption in the process.

Hydrogen as a fuel:

• Hydrogen as a fuel has a critical role to play in driving the paradigm shift towards a green and sustainable economy.
• It is completely non-polluting and has about three-fold higher calorific value compared to non-renewable energy sources such as coal and gasoline.

Read more: Green Hydrogen – The Fuel of the Future

Production of Hydrogen:

• The simplest way to produce hydrogen is by using electrolysis where water is split into its constituent elements, hydrogen, and oxygen.
• But this method requires high energy input and is associated with a slow rate of hydrogen production.
• Moreover, the use of expensive platinum and iridium-based catalysts also discourages it for widespread commercialization.
• Therefore, the transition to “green-hydrogen-economy” demands approaches that lower the energy and material costs and simultaneously improve the hydrogen production rate.
• Hence, to solve this, researchers at IIT Bombay have come up with an innovative route that provides viable solutions to all these challenges.

What did researchers develop?

• The researchers have developed a method that involves the electrolysis of water in the presence of an external magnetic field.
• This method results in 19% less energy consumption and three times more hydrogen production.