Researchers at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology have developed a new method for producing green hydrogen that eliminates the need for a membrane and allows for more flexibility in fluctuating renewable energy conditions.
The process, called Decoupled Water Electrolysis (DWE), separates the production of hydrogen and oxygen into different times or cells, which lowers risks and costs.
The research, published in Nature Reviews Clean Technology, highlights emerging hydrogen production techniques, including several pioneered at the Technion by Prof. Avner Rothschild and Prof. Gidi Grader, along with Dr. Hen Dotan and Dr. Abigail Landman. Their innovations led to the founding of H2Pro, a company focused on commercializing the technology.
Lead authors of the article include Rothschild and postdoctoral researcher Dr. Glenn Rowan from the Technion’s Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering. Other contributors are Rotem Arad and Gilad Yogev of H2Pro, Prof. Mark Symes and Ph.D. candidate Fiona Todman from the University of Glasgow, Prof. Jens Olaf Jensen of the Technical University of Denmark and Dr. Tom Smolinka of Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems.
Green hydrogen is typically produced through electrolysis — the process of splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity. Conventional electrolysis uses two electrodes separated by a membrane, a setup that is expensive, prone to hydrogen crossover and poorly suited to intermittent power sources like solar and wind. The membranes themselves are costly and require intensive maintenance.
Symes initiated early work on decoupled electrolysis in 2013. Two years later, Rothschild and his team developed a new nickel-based electrode system, which led to a patent and the launch of H2Pro in 2019. The company is now preparing to deploy the first industrial-scale DWE system, which is designed to handle the variability of renewable energy.
The paper is the first to detail strategies for scaling DWE systems to industrial production. While laboratory prototypes generate less than a gram of hydrogen daily, commercial systems must produce around a ton per day—roughly a million times more per unit. Meeting global demand could require at least one million such units.
Unlike traditional electrolysis systems, DWE setups feature internal batteries that help absorb fluctuations in electricity supply, making them a strong match for renewable energy sources.
The global hydrogen market is currently valued at $250 billion a year. Commercializing green hydrogen could double or triple that figure within a decade. Rothschild said green hydrogen could eventually make up 10% of the global energy market.
“Once we can produce hydrogen at scale and at competitive prices, green hydrogen will replace much of the fossil fuel used in heavy transport — trucks, trains, ships and planes — and in industries such as steel and fertilizer production,” Rothschild said. “Legacy electrolysis systems need to evolve to align with renewables. As Darwin said, it’s not the strongest who survive, but those most adaptable to change. DWE offers a new way forward for renewable-based hydrogen production.”
