New Catalyst Allows Cheaper Hydrogen Production

First time accepted submitter CanadianRealist writes "Electrolysis of water to produce hydrogen is very inefficient without the use of a catalyst. Unfortunately catalysts are currently made of crystals containing rare, expensive toxic metals such as ruthenium and iridium. Two chemists from the University of Calgary have invented a process to make a catalyst using relatively non-toxic metal compounds such as iron oxide, for 1/1000 the cost of currently used catalysts. It is suggested this would make it more feasible to use electrolysis of water to create hydrogen as a method of storing energy from variable green power sources such as wind and solar."

Comments

Cheap hydrogen?

[SpaghettiPattern]

Cheap hydrogen? This lad here only settles for premium. Not only are the atoms more shiny but all my my friends use it and I really want to be part of the in crowd.

catalyze

[Anonymous Coward]

dogalyze
birdalyze
horsealyze
totoisealyze
yackalyze
star-bellied-sneechalyze
nematodealyze
amoebalyze
anteateralyze
giraffealyze

Re:catalyze

[RandomUsername99]

Yeah... I remember the first time I slashdotted on weed.

Re:Nonsense.

[slick7]

Transportation and storage are huge problems as well. Tiny leaks that don't really matter for methane or propane would be a big problem for hydrogen. Meanwhile, hydrogen makes metals brittle.

Like everything the fuels industry touches, it will make water more expensive than it already is.