RICHLAND, Wash., - Hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe, packs a powerful punch. And because it contains no carbon, it produces only water when used as a fuel. But on Earth, hydrogen most often exists in combination with other elements, which means it needs to be extracted, writes the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy partner. Continue reading original article
The Intelligent Aerospace take:
September 30, 2019-Â It's been a big month for news about the most abundant element in the universe. Australia's Monash University (see below) released a study showing it was able to replace iridium as a catalyst to produce hydrogen through electrolosis, while the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, in coordination with Oregon State University, found a replacement for platinum to produce hydrogen from salt water.
"If you can produce hydrogen from seawater, the resource pool is pretty much unlimited," said Yuyan Shao, a material scientist at PNNL who led the catalyst research.
If hydrogen can be produced from an essentially never-ending source at a low enough cost, greenhouse gas producing carbon-based fuels may be able to be replaced as companies have already shown that they are able to make aircraft, ground vehicles, and space craft that can harness the element in fuel cells to power engines.
Related: Electrolysis breakthrough could solve the hydrogen conundrum
Related: ZeroAvia unveils 'zero emission' hydrogen-fueled electric powertrain
Jamie Whitney, Associate Editor
Intelligent Aerospace
