Scientists develop method to generate green hydrogen while producing valuable chemicals

JERUSALEM, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Israeli and Chinese scientists have developed a method to generate green hydrogen while simultaneously producing valuable chemicals for industry, the Israel Institute of Technology said in a statement Tuesday.

In their study, published in Nature Communications, the researchers described a new approach that could help make green hydrogen production more affordable.

Green hydrogen is made by using electricity, ideally from renewable sources such as solar and wind, to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.

The researchers developed a process that replaces the oxygen normally produced alongside hydrogen with an epoxide, a chemical compound used to make plastics, coatings, adhesives, medicines, and other industrial products.

According to the team, the new process achieved 98 percent efficiency in both hydrogen production and the parallel chemical reaction, and the system reached a current density suitable for large-scale industrial electrolysis.