Hydrogen Production Method Could Bolster Fuel Supplies

November 29, 2004 | Source: New York Times

Researchers have found a way to produce pure hydrogen with far less energy than other methods.

The development would move the country closer to the Energy Department’s goal of a “hydrogen economy,” in which hydrogen would be created through a variety of means, and would be consumed by fuel cells, to make electricity to run cars, and for other purposes.

The new method involves running electricity through water that has a very high temperature. As the water molecule breaks up, a ceramic sieve separates the oxygen from the hydrogen.