ZAP // TU Graz; Freepik
Merit Bodner, researcher at TU Graz, Austria
A new EU project is trying to reinvent green hydrogen — so it’s cleaner, cheaper and without “forever chemicals.”
O green hydrogen could be a revolution for the clean energy transition — but right now, it is too expensiveit still depends on “eternal chemicals” harmful, the famous “PFAS”, and its energy inefficiency prevents it from being competitive with fossil fuels.
A new EU-supported project called SUPREMEaims to change these limitations by reinventing the way hydrogen is produced.
Led by the University of Southern Denmark, with partners across Europe, researchers are developing a PFAS-free electrolysis systemwhich drastically reduces the use of rare metals like iridium and significantly cuts costs.
Green hydrogen is considered a fundamental pillar of the global transition to abandon fossil fuels. However, producing it at scale remains simultaneously expensive and environmentally complex.
One of the main production methods, PEM electrolysis (proton exchange membrane), works particularly well when electricity from wind and solar energy fluctuates. However, It’s still much more expensive than producing hydrogen from fossil fuels.
There are also environmental concerns. Current PEM systems rely on so-called “forever chemicals”, substances that the European Union predicts phase out due to its risks to the environment and health.
Over the next three years, researchers at the University of Southern Denmark, in collaboration with the Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) and other partners, will develop a more efficient PFAS-free electrolysis system that uses much smaller quantities of critical raw materials such as iridium.
The goal is to make “H₂ green” significantly more accessible and sustainable.
“Hydrogen is used as a raw material in very high quantities, and this trend will continue to increase in the future. Among the most relevant examples are ammonia production, methanol production and the steel industry”, he says Merit Bodnerresearcher at TU Graz, in .
“If we can eliminate the use of harmful substances in the production of green hydrogen and bring its price closer to fossil hydrogen in economic terms, we will have given a important step towards the green transition.”, says Bodner.
“That makes it equally more attractive for other applicationssuch as storing surplus energy from renewable sources”, concludes the researcher.
Hydrogen already has a central role in main industrial processesand demand is expected to continue to grow. Making your production cleaner and more competitive compared to H₂ of fossil origin can accelerate its use not only in industry, but also as a way of store excess renewable energy.
Whether or not the SUPREME project will overcome limitations and reinvent green H₂… we will know in three years.
