Cutting down green electrolysis costs by using cheaper electrode materials

Cutting down green electrolysis costs by using cheaper electrode materials

The strategy of eliminating rare and precious metals from the electrolysis process is a popular line of research and development among numerous hydrogen-focused startups. Alternative materials research was the focus of two startups showcased at MIT earlier this year. On Friday, California-based tech developer BioSolar announced that it has changed its name to NewHydrogen, and would focus in the future on eliminating platinum and iridium from electrolyzer catalysts. Dioxide Materials is another company that has push for non-noble metal catalysis to achieve cheap water electrolysis.

Recently, Southern California Gas (SoCalGas) has partnered with startup H2U Technologies to evaluate whether technology developed atCaltech’s Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis with funding from the DOE will reduce the cost of green hydrogen production in commercial settings. According to Nitin Vaish, head of product and strategy at H2U, “We’re talking about opportunities in the trillions of dollars in the next two to three decades. The opportunity is huge for a number of companies.”