Company working on developing inexpensive catalysts for PEM electrolyzers
SANTA CLARITA, Calif., Oct. 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NewHydrogen, Inc. (OTC:NEWH), a developer of clean energy technologies, today provided an updated overview of its sponsored research program at UCLA, which is focused on lowering the cost of producing green hydrogen. Producing hydrogen economically and from renewable sources is a key component of a sustainable energy future.
Preliminary results of the research suggested a highly effective method of reducing the cost of green hydrogen by replacing iridium with much more stable non-precious metal-based oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts that not only cost less but also last much longer in proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers.
As a first step, researchers created a baseline non-precious metal-based catalyst that later demonstrated significant improvement of OER in acidic conditions after substituting part of the existing metal element in the material structure.
In addition to the inexpensive non-precious metal-based OER catalyst that replaces expensive iridium in PEM electrolyzers, the Company is also developing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts. Researchers are progressing toward development of platinum-based HER catalysts that use less platinum by an order of magnitude, but with substantially improved stability. This is in line with the Company’s focus on developing OER catalysts that not only cost less but also last much longer (and therefore do not need to be replaced as often).
“Prior to scaling up the process for studies with a prototype electrolyzer in late 2022, researchers will continue to explore additional improvements to both the OER and the HER catalysts to maximize the overall performance of an actual water electrolysis device,” said Spencer Hall, COO of NewHydrogen. “While these updates are more technical in nature, we will continue to share the technology objectives and critical steps of the process with the public and broader capital markets.”
NewHydrogen is developing ThermoLoop™ – a breakthrough technology that uses water and heat rather than electricity to produce the world’s lowest cost green hydrogen. Hydrogen is the cleanest and most abundant element in the universe, and we can’t live without it. Hydrogen is the key ingredient in making fertilizers needed to grow food for the world. It is also used for transportation, refining oil and making steel, glass, pharmaceuticals and more. Nearly all the hydrogen today is made from hydrocarbons like coal, oil, and natural gas, which are dirty and limited resources. Water, on the other hand, is an infinite and renewable worldwide resource.
Currently, the most common method of making green hydrogen is to split water into oxygen and hydrogen with an electrolyzer using green electricity produced from solar or wind. However, green electricity is and always will be very expensive. It currently accounts for 73% of the cost of green hydrogen. By using heat directly, we can skip the expensive process of making electricity, and fundamentally lower the cost of green hydrogen. Inexpensive heat can be obtained from concentrated solar, geothermal, nuclear reactors and industrial waste heat for use in our novel low-cost thermochemical water splitting process. Working with a world class research team at UC Santa Barbara, our goal is to help usher in the green hydrogen economy that Goldman Sachs estimated to have a future market value of $12 trillion.
Matters discussed in this press release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "may," "intend," "expect" and similar expressions identify such forward-looking statements. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those contemplated, expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained herein. These forward-looking statements are based largely on the expectations of the Company and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. These include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties associated with: the impact of economic, competitive and other factors affecting the Company and its operations, markets, the impact on the national and local economies resulting from terrorist actions, the impact of public health epidemics on the global economy and other factors detailed in reports filed by the Company with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
Any forward-looking statement made by us in this press release is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.