Researchers at the University of Twente, led by Dr. Marco Altomare, have developed a novel method to reduce the use of precious metals in green hydrogen production without compromising performance. The findings, published in Advanced Functional Materials, could pave the way for more affordable and accessible hydrogen technologies.
The Importance of Green Hydrogen in Combating Climate Change
Green hydrogen is crucial for transitioning to sustainable energy and addressing climate change. However, the high cost and scarcity of precious metal catalysts like platinum and iridium hinder the large-scale adoption of hydrogen technologies in polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) water electrolyzers and fuel cells.
Reducing Precious Metal Usage without Sacrificing Performance
The University of Twente research team, in collaboration with partners from Erlangen, Germany, and Pavia, Italy, has combined physical vapor deposition (PVD) and solid-state dewetting to create highly active and durable electrodes with minimized amounts of precious metals.
Key points:
- The method combines physical vapor deposition (PVD) and solid-state dewetting.
- It can potentially reduce the amount of precious catalyst needed by five times without compromising hydrogen generation.
- The approach is chemical-free, safer, and produces no waste of precious catalyst precursor.
- The method is scalable, as similar thin film deposition methods are already used at scale in various industrial applications.
Shreyas Harsha, the lead Ph.D. researcher, states, “According to our preliminary lab experiments, with our approach, we can potentially reduce the amount of precious catalyst needed by five times, all without loss in H2 generation.”
A Scalable, Chemical-Free Approach
Dr. Marco Altomare emphasizes the scalability and environmental benefits of their method, saying, “Our method is completely chemical-free, hence safer and with no waste of precious catalyst precursor, and it is scalable—in fact, similar thin film deposition methods are already used at scale in various industrial applications.”
The Next Target: Further Reduction of Precious Metal Usage
The research team aims to achieve the next target by testing their electrodes under industry-relevant conditions, with the goal of reducing noble metal loadings to less than 0.5 mg/cm2, aligning with the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2026 targets for hydrogen technologies.
A Promising Future for Sustainable Energy
This breakthrough in reducing precious metal usage in green hydrogen production holds great promise for the future of sustainable energy, contributing significantly to the fight against climate change.
Read more: Ohmium Unveils 2GW Electrolyser Gigafactory in India
