Your car could soon run on THIN AIR: Scientists are developing a process to produce hydrogen as a fuel from the air
- Scientists have developed a new method to extract water from the air to make hydrogen
- Green hydrogen, made from electricity and water, could help power cars
- Experts developed an electrolyser that uses moist air instead of liquid water
- The device absorbs moisture from the air and splits water into hydrogen and oxygen
It may sound far-fetched, but driving a car that’s powered from nothing may one day be possible after scientists develop a new way to produce hydrogen fuel.
Green hydrogen, produced from electricity and water using electrolysers, represents a possible alternative to CO2-emitting fossil fuels.
However, current devices often require complex components such as rare metals and access to pure water, which can lead to competition with limited drinking water supplies.
Instead of liquid water, the new electrolyser prototype uses moist air.
It absorbs moisture from the air and splits the collected water into hydrogen and oxygen.
This hydrogen fuel was then shown to successfully power a device.
New Technology: It may sound far-fetched, but driving a car that’s powered from nothing could one day be possible after scientists develop a new way to produce hydrogen fuel. Instead of liquid water, the new prototype electrolyser (pictured) uses moist air
It absorbs moisture from the air and splits the collected water into hydrogen and oxygen
Experts from the University of Melbourne said their prototype idea could enable the delivery of hydrogen fuel to arid and remote regions with minimal environmental impact, especially when using renewable energy.
They were able to electrolyze the water in the air at a humidity of just 4 percent.
“We have developed what is called a Direct Air Electrolyzer, or DAE for short,” Gang Kevin Li, a lecturer in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Melbourne and co-author of the paper, told Newsweek.
“This module uses a hygroscopic electrolyte that is constantly exposed to the atmosphere.
“Such an electrolyte has a high potential to spontaneously (without external power input) remove moisture from the air, making it readily available for electrolysis and hydrogen production once coupled with a (renewable) power supply.”
Electrolysis has traditionally only been used to extract hydrogen and oxygen from liquid water.
Experts from the University of Melbourne said their prototype idea could enable the delivery of hydrogen fuel to arid and remote regions with minimal environmental impact, especially when using renewable energy
This graphic shows how the Toyota Mirai car can run on hydrogen instead of gasoline
It works by immersing two electrodes in water and passing an electric current through them.
At the positively charged electrode, electrons are ripped away from H2O, forming positive hydrogen ions and O2 molecules, while at the negative cathode, electrons are donated to the hydrogen ions, forming hydrogen.
The problem with this is that liquid water is required for this, so such electrolysis must be carried out in a place where it is plentiful so that the drinking water supply is not restricted.
When this water is in the air, as is the case with the prototype harvesting it, then it eliminates this problem and the costs associated with it.
It also enables the production of hydrogen anywhere in the world.
The scientists say their research could allow future solar-to-fuel conversion devices to work anywhere on Earth and overcome the problem of water scarcity in the event of widespread hydrogen production deployment.
The research was published in the journal Nature Communications.
