This is the End of Activity Report for the Australian National University (ANU) and University of Wollongong (UoW) Hydrogen Generation Research and Development Project: Hydrogen Generation by Electro-Catalytic Systems.
Report extract
This document corresponds to the ‘End of Activity’ report for the Australian National University (ANU) and University of Wollongong (UoW) Hydrogen Generation Research and Development Project: Hydrogen Generation by Electro-Catalytic Systems. The project aimed to use biologically inspired catalysts with gas permeable electrode surfaces to develop a simpler and more efficient hydrogen generating electrolysis technology than any known to operate from pure water and renewable electricity.
The key thesis was to develop high performance catalysts with components that mimic those of the natural water oxidation catalyst of photosynthesis, namely, the Photosystem II Oxygen Evolving Centre (PSII-OEC). These were then to be deposited on specially designed gas permeable electrodes to achieve ‘bubble-free’ water splitting in the same way that occurs in photosynthesis. The hypothesis was that such a system should offer a more efficient hydrogen generating electrolysis technology than any known to date using water of near-neutral pH. The ability to avoid the very high or low pH’s normally required in water electrolysers offers a potentially important commercial advantage in green hydrogen production. For example, it allows green hydrogen production without notable corrosion.