Japan managed to multiply the value by 1,000 hydrogen. This material was mentioned centuries ago and they finally found it. The hydrogen and oxygen fusion engine has already shown that H is increasingly being installed in the energy sector. Many experts see it as the fuel of the future and the definitive alternative to giving up fossil fuels. In an article by Sciencea group of specialists analyzed the Earth’s ability to contain natural reserves hydrogen.
There could be enough natural H to meet global demand for thousands of years, according to a model by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) presented in October 2022 at a meeting of the Geological Society of America. The projection of H as a clean, carbon-free fuel is tempting for companies looking to align with international environmental goals.
“Interest is growing rapidly, but scientific data is still lacking,” he said. Frédéric-Victor Donzé, geophysicist at the University of Grenoble Alpes. Erik Hand, author of the Science article: “The prospects are exciting. But the excitement is all hypothetical at this point. No one anywhere in the world will produce hydrogen commercial for the time being.” In this context, Japan has multiplied the H by 1,000.
Japan is multiplying hydrogen and starting a new era for this resource
Japan has found a cheap metal that can generate 1000% more H. The new manganese oxide catalyst is 40 times more durable than previous models. Platinum or iridium catalysts are too expensive, this is the first viable option. The great promise of the energy sector is to focus on green H, which is generated from renewable energy through the process called water electrolysis.
Countries like Spain They are fixating their future on this energy vector, which still needs more research to ensure that large-scale production is sustainable. Under these circumstances, Japan has the advantage.
In recent years, PEM electrolyzers, which use a proton exchange membrane as the electrolyte, have gained ground in H production due to their efficiency and ability to respond quickly to intermittent energy sources. The problem, however, is that these are expensive models.
They demand efficient catalysts that are resistant to acid corrosion. That is why we find platinum or iridium in it, rare and expensive elements. Iridium catalysts sustain the oxygen evolution reaction for a longer period of time and allow large volume generation. But is there another, more affordable material that can do the same job?
The researchers of RIKEN Institute in Japan starting with manganese (uncommon metal) and making changes to the three-dimensional structure to realize the first efficient and durable PEM electrolyzer without rare metals.
They created a manganese oxide (MnO2) catalyst by modifying the material’s lattice structure to form stronger bonds with oxygen atoms. Enhanced MnO2 is more stable than other non-remarkable metal catalysts and maintains reaction with water for a longer period of time.
Japan finds material that was predicted centuries ago
According to a study published in Natural catalysisHe MnO2 Multiplies the life of other affordable catalysts by 40. The material becomes more resistant to solution in acid and more stable during the reaction. Laboratory tests were conducted on this catalyst and it operated for over a thousand hours at 200 mA/cm2, generating an amount of H 10 times higher than that of other materials.
Much research and development is still needed to achieve this new material in industrial electrolyzers. However, researchers see this progress as crucial. Future modifications that could be made to the manganese structure could further increase the current density supported by the material and the catalyst lifetime, with the long-term goal that water electrolysis does not require iridium.
That is how Japan managed to multiply the value by 1,000 hydrogen. The progress of the H is such that Japan is converting gasoline engines to hydrogen cells.