The finding is a step toward reducing the capital cost of equipment necessary to produce hydrogen, which is used to power fuel cells that emit no pollutants or carbons, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said.
"Using hydrogen to fuel our economy can reduce dependence on imported petroleum, diversify energy resources, and reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions," he said."To this end, the Department of Energy is actively exploring clean hydrogen production technologies using fossil, nuclear and renewable resources to revolutionize the way we power cars, homes and businesses."
Scientists produced hydrogen using a process known as high-temperature electrolysis, which uses heat to decrease electricity needed for splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen. Instead of conventional electrolysis, which uses only electric current to separate hydrogen from water, high-temperature electrolysis enhances the efficiency of the process by adding substantial external heat – such as high-temperature steam from an advanced nuclear reactor system.
Such a high-temperature system has the potential to achieve overall hydrogen production efficiencies in the 45 to 50 percent range, compared to approximately 30 percent for conventional electrolysis
Improvements in solid oxide electrolyzer design made by Ceramatec will enable a three-fold decrease in equipment size, allowing greatly reduced capital costs. The federal lab developed the system concept design and performed the feasibility testing.
