The most common processes currently used to produce hydrogen are - steam reformation of natural gas, partial oxidation of hydrocarbons, and coal gasification. But all these processes use fossil fuels as a feedstock and generate different emissions of pollutants.

Steam methane reformation (SMR) is a mature technology that produces the hydrogen. In this process methane which is the feedstock mixes with steam at elevated temperatures between 700 - 925°C to produce syngas, i.e. a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide (CO) that then goes through a water shift reaction that increases the content of hydrogen. The mixture obtained contains hydrogen and CO₂. Then the H₂ is separated from CO₂ by using a membrane and pressure.

Partial oxidation is another process that uses heavy hydrocarbons catalytically to react liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons with superheated steam and oxygen at around 600°C. The reaction produces a mixture of H₂, CO and CO₂, and a shift reaction is again used to increase the content of hydrogen, that is then separated from the mixture. This process also produces pollutants like NOX and SOX besides CO₂.

Coal gasification is a process that use coal and steam in at high pressure and temperature and then supply a lean quantity of oxygen, thus the coal partially oxidizes instead of burning, and produces CO and H₂.

To avoid these pollutants and increase H₂ production water electrolysis process is currently in research and development stage.

Our Research

Water is the most abundant source of H₂. Hydrogen can be produced from water by applying electric current is to split water into oxygen and hydrogen. This process called electrolysis. Electrolysis is the most promising option for H₂ production from renewable resources. When used with renewable sources of electricity, it can produce H₂ with zero or near zero greenhouse gas emissions and can produce 99.9995% pure H₂ and oxygen. Water electrolysis is a mature technology, and it has been used for production ranging from a few cm3/min to thousands m3/h. It is relatively efficient (>70%), but because it needs high quality electricity, hydrogen produced by water-electrolysis is expensive (>$20/GJ using hydrogen’s higher heating value and assuming electricity cost of about $0.05/kWh).

Ideal Scenario

In the ideal case, 8.9 litters of water and 39 kWh of electricity will produce 1kg of hydrogen at 25°C and 1 atmosphere pressure (STP). The volume of 1kg of hydrogen at STP is 11.24 m3. The device used to produce chemical reactions for electrolysis is called an electrolytic cell. An electrolytic cell is a type of electrochemical cell in which an electric current is used to drive a non-spontaneous reaction. Oxygen is a valuable by-product of electrolysis, and its commercialization can reduce the cost of the hydrogen produced. As continuous sufficient electricity is one of the key elements for electrolysis system, it is necessary to find cheap, efficient and environment friendly electricity source, such as solar energy.

The idea of producing hydrogen only using sunlight and water presents a huge business opportunity. This present concept called Solar2Hydrogen (S2H) in which is combination of a polymer solar cell with a hydrogen production cell. Through merging these well-known inventions, the inventor was able to create a more effective solution for producing hydrogen and oxygen that requires no external energy to operate.

Although the idea is still in very early concept phase, it has the potential to become a future alternative to petroleum. S2H could be used in several. Especially the ability to use this solution at fuel stations is elaborated further, both from a business perspective but also from the customers´ and the society’s point of view. The idea could be seen as an easy and effective way of producing hydrogen at fuel stations. It could be produced on site and only requires sunlight and water to operate. Consequently, the solution could be seen as one of the most environmentally friendly ways of producing fuel for vehicles.

The market of hydrogen vehicles is expected to grow rapidly in the upcoming years, and by using S2H, fuel providers are able to take part of this growth.

Hydrogen vehicles only emit water vapor, and are hence much more environmentally friendly than petroleum vehicles. But this is only true when the energy used for producing hydrogen comes from green sources. S2H is a totally green option and hence a solution to this problem.

To translate the idea into reality it is crucial to show the capacity and efficiency of the invention and therefore a prototype need be created. Further new competences have to be acquired and a thorough market analysis is needed to be done. If these steps are followed, S2H is expected to show green numbers in year three of operation.