University of Alberta researchers turn ocean water into hydrogen

In Canada, the University of Alberta reported that a group of its researchers have patented a process that creates hydrogen from water, including seawater. The technology has now been licensed by the Canadian company Cipher Neutron.

“Hydrogen is everywhere. Now. It is the lifeblood of the economy,” said Professor Steve Bergens. “You need it to make gasoline, you need it to make fertilizer, you need it to make vegetable oil, methanol, it’s used for fuel. It’s everywhere. And so making hydrogen efficiently, at a low cost without waste, has got to be one of the most important problems that everybody’s working on.”

Currently, most hydrogen is made from natural gas in large, centralized steam reformer plants. While effective, this process creates a massive amount of carbon dioxide. Bergens’ goal was to find an alternative that produces zero emissions, using only water and electricity.

Cipher Neutron, which focuses on developing electrolyzers for green hydrogen production and tests dozens of combinations every month, feels this innovation can significantly reduce the cost of hydrogen compared with other energy sources while improving durability, two critical factors for large-scale adoption.

“The oxygen evolution reaction — and particularly anode durability — has been a major challenge in electrolysis,” said Ranny Dhillon, chief scientific officer of Cipher Neutron. “This technology directly addresses that challenge and opens new pathways for performance and long-term stability.”