Microwave technology for more efficient production of clean hydrogen
December 28, 2024 – Clean hydrogen is becoming increasingly important for sustainable energy systems, but conventional production methods are energy-intensive, expensive, and difficult to scale up. They require temperatures above 1,500 °C, making them difficult to implement. Researchers from Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) have investigated an innovative solution: the use of microwave energy. This technique lowered the process temperature for reducing Gd-doped ceria (CeO₂), a key material for hydrogen production, to less than 600 °C; a reduction of more than 60 percent.
Moreover, where conventional methods require hours at extreme temperatures, microwave technology achieved the same result in minutes. According to POSTECH, this could make hydrogen production cheaper and more accessible.
The results of the research were published in January in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A under the title ‘Thermodynamic assessment of Gd-doped CeO2 for microwave-assisted thermochemical reduction’.