Hychor, a spin-off from the University of Aberdeen in the UK, has developed a low-cost on-site, off-grid solution that uses seawater directly to generate green hydrogen. The technology could increase hydrogen usage while also easing pressure on freshwater sources.
As countries look to move away from fossil fuels, large-scale wind and solar power plants are being built to generate electricity without any emissions. However, the intermittent nature of these sources requires us to store energy in battery packs.
While these battery packs are sufficient to power household appliances or even electric vehicles, they cannot generate enough power to fly a passenger airplane across continents or carry out high-temperature industrial processes.
This is where hydrogen as a fuel comes in. It is extremely lightweight but packs in energy densities higher than those of fossil fuels. Moreover, when combusted, it produces only water as a by-product, making it an ideal fossil-fuel alternative. However, hydrogen is not available in its free form and needs to be produced.
Issues with production
For a fuel that could potentially replace fossil fuels immediately, hydrogen has two major issues. One its productions either emits carbon or is very expensive. One approach to hydrogen production is methane dehydrogenation. While inexpensive, it emits carbon, which defeats the purpose of using the fuel.
The other is electrolysis, where water is split into its components, hydrogen and oxygen using electricity. The process can have indirect emissions, depending on the electricity source. However, with large scale wind and solar power plants, it is easier to use green energy to carry out electrolysis these days.
Electrolysis is expensive, though and also puts strain on freshwater resources as two pounds (one kilogram) of hydrogen production through electrolysis requires over eight gallons (32.2 liters) of freshwater.
Research in the area has also enabled the generation of hydrogen from seawater. However, this requires the seawater to be put through desalination first, which further increases the cost of hydrogen production.
Hychor’s innovative solution
To overcome cost issues, Hychor has developed an innovative solution that uses seawater directly in the electrolysis process. Hychor’s CEO, Jani Shibuya, a graduate from the University of Aberdeen in the UK, worked on electrocatalysts’ surface behaviours, sustainable flow batteries, and desalination technologies during his doctoral thesis at the University.
Shibuya recognized that the generation of chlorine during electrolysis was a major impediment to the direct use of seawater. Chlorine, a highly reactive gas, when generated during electrolysis, destroys the electrolyzer due to its corrosive nature. Avoiding chlorine production during electrolysis is possible but incurs additional costs.
So, instead of trying to revamp electrolysis by changing materials, Shibuya decided to revamp the electrolysis system as a whole. Instead of trying to avoid salts in seawater, Hychor’s novel electrolyzer system uses them to facilitate conductivity.
Although the exact details of the electrolyzer are being kept under the wraps as its patent application is still under process, Shibuya confirmed that the system does not need any additives or generate any unnecessary by-products.
Moreover, unlike other seawater electrolysis approaches that generate a polluting brine during desalination and must be safely discarded, Hychor’s process increases seawater concentration by less than 1%, making it safe to return the treated water directly to the source.
The company plans to begin its pilot project in 2027 and will look to provide hydrogen generation solutions to destinations that are closer to the coast and remain off-grid.
