“Thanks to this process, it is possible to generate 14 times more hydrogen than traditional electrolysis techniquessays Yemima Ehrnst, a scientist working at RMIT.It also prevents the accumulation of hydrogen and oxygen bubbles on the electrodes, making them much more stable and conductive.”
Improving yield to lower prices
This discovery, which was recently the subject of a publication in the journal “Advanced Energy Materials”could help lower the production costs of green hydrogen.
“Electrodes are made with expensive materials such as iridium or platinum“, explains Amgad Rezk, associate professor at RMIT.”Current electrolysis is therefore a production technique that is still too expensive.”
According to the researcher, using sound waves to produce more hydrogen could eliminate the need for expensive and corrosive electrode materials such as platinum or iridium. It would thus be possible to replace them with much cheaper metals such as silver.
“Avoiding the buildup of bubbles on the electrodes and eliminating them with high-frequency vibrations is a crucial advance for hydrogen production”, said RMIT professor Leslie Yeo. “With this new technique, we could improve the conversion efficiency of electrolysis and thus save 27% of energy!”
Having applied for a provisional patent, the researchers from the two Australian universities now face the challenge of scaling up their system compared to existing electrolyzers. If they succeed, they wish to enter into various partnerships with industrialists so that they can optimize their electrolysis production technology.