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.
- The low cost and high durability of the new catalyst made it a good candidate for commercial water electrolysis systems operating at high current densities.
- Recent research activities focused on further modification of the catalyst structure and optimized loading condition resulted in significant improvement of the OER catalytic activity as well as higher stability that extends the estimated life of the catalyst by an additional 50%.
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.”
About NewHydrogen, Inc.
NewHydrogen, Inc. is focused on developing a breakthrough electrolyzer technology to lower the cost of green hydrogen production. Hydrogen is the cleanest and most abundant fuel in the universe. It is zero-emission and only produces water vapor when used. However, hydrogen does not exist in its pure form on Earth so it must be extracted. For centuries, scientists have known how to use electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen using a device called an electrolyzer. Electrolyzers installed behind a solar farm or wind farm can use renewable electricity to split water, thereby producing green hydrogen. Unfortunately, electrolyzers are expensive and rely on rare earth materials such as platinum and iridium. These very expensive materials account for nearly 50% of the cost of electrolyzers. The company’s technology is aimed at significantly reducing or replacing rare earth materials in electrolyzers with inexpensive earth-abundant materials to help usher in a green hydrogen economy that Goldman Sachs estimates will be worth $12 trillion by 2050.
To learn more about the company, please visit https://www.NewHydrogen.com.
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CONTACT INFORMATION
Investor Relations Contact:
Tom Becker
NewHydrogen, Inc.
ir@newhydrogen.com
(877) 904-3733
