I-Corps: Low-Cost and Highly Efficient Hydrogen Production from Water Splitting

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The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project will be the development and commercialization of a green hydrogen production technology. The proposed technology will benefit the water splitting manufacturers who currently suffer from high manufacturing costs associated with expensive catalyst materials and manufacturing, low efficiency, and short lifetime in operation. The technology also will benefit pure-hydrogen consumers who suffer from the impurities in current hydrogen sources. The technology will advance the hydrogen economy.This I-Corps project is based on the development of a technology for hydrogen production from water splitting. The proposed catalytic water-splitting technology has demonstrated enhanced performance with greatly reduced use of noble metals. In the existing market, customer needs arise from specific requirements to provide pure hydrogen production from renewable sources that help to effectively manage energy consumption, provide a clean environment with zero pollution, as well as provide high-energy efficiency. Hydrogen production from water splitting has the potential to address many of these challenges. However, high material costs, low efficiency, and poor durability constitute major barriers to industrial and residential applications. The proposed hydrogen production technology in this project will overcome these barriers by significantly decreasing the amount of noble metals in the catalysts. The reduction of the loading of noble metals in the catalysts without sacrificing the activity and durability will reduce the materials cost for manufacturing water splitting system.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.