Tag Archives: Hydrogen

TU Wien: Hydrogen production is possible with less platinum

By | October 13th 2026
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Hydrogen is the key to future energy production. Credits: German Federal Environment Agency (UBA)

Hydrogen is expected to become a key energy carrier of the future, especially for industrial applications. This requires climate-friendly technologies that split water into hydrogen and oxygen. A major challenge is cost: PEM water electrolysis requires highly corrosion-resistant components. Some of these are coated with platinum. Experiments at TU Wien have now examined the electrochemical processes on such platinum layers in greater detail… Read more »

Empa researchers decipher the atomic structure of amorphous aluminum oxide

By | August 15, 2025
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The aluminum atoms (gray) and the oxygen atoms (red) in amorphous aluminum oxide are not present in an ordered crystalline form. (Hydrogen atoms: blue). Credits: Empa

Researchers at Empa have succeeded for the first time in modeling the disordered atomic structure of amorphous aluminum oxide with high accuracy. The material, known as Al₂O₃, is widespread in nature as the mineral corundum, as well as in the form of sapphire and ruby, and finds broad applications in electronics, the chemical industry, and technical ceramics. Amorphous aluminum oxide, in particular, is valued for its uniform structure… Read more »

It is proven: Organisms can produce energy from air

By | July 29, 2025
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Credits: Darius Krause, pexels

Researchers at the University of Bern, in collaboration with scientists from Australia and New Zealand, have recreated a significant process in the laboratory that enables organisms to extract energy directly from the air. This confirms that certain organisms, such as bacteria, can indeed live on air alone, without relying on sunlight or other energy sources. The findings open up new possibilities… Read more »

New hope for green hydrogen: MXenes increase catalyst efficiency

By | May 29
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Berlin, May 29, 2025 – An international research group led by HZB chemist Michelle Browne has achieved a breakthrough in the development of cost-effective catalysts for the production of green hydrogen. The study, published in Advanced Functional Materials, shows how MXenes – flaky structures made of carbon and transition metals – make the oxygen evolution reaction in electrolysis more efficient. Green hydrogen is considered… Read more »

Global energy system model explains what a global hydrogen economy could look like

By | May 28
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Credits: Alena Darmel, pexels

Hydrogen production could remain largely independent across continents – this is the conclusion of scenarios investigated by researchers at Ruhr University Bochum and the University of Duisburg-Essen in the StEAM project (Sector Transformation in the Energy System: Analysis and Modeling of Possible Hydrogen Strategies). Within three years, the team developed a global energy system model that links the electricity and hydrogen sectors. “With this, we have… Read more »

German premiere: Master's program in hydrogen technologies starts in winter semester at TU Chemnitz

By | May 13
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Credits: Geralt, pixabay

Starting in the winter semester of 2025/2026, Chemnitz University of Technology will offer a Master's program in Hydrogen Technologies. It is the first of its kind in Germany and aims to meet the growing demand for skilled professionals in the hydrogen economy. The program provides in-depth knowledge of hydrogen and its production, transport, and applications. Particular emphasis is placed on the engineering development of fuel cell and electrolyzer components and their integration into… Read more »

Highly reactive copper catalyst enables labeling of active ingredients

By | May 12
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rof. Dr. Johannes Teichert and Dr. Mahadeb Gorai, credits: Jacob Müller, Chemnitz University of Technology

In a recent issue of the journal "Journal of the American Chemical Society," the research group of Prof. Dr. Johannes Teichert (TU Chemnitz, Organic Chemistry), together with research partners from the working group of Prof. Dr. Fabian Dielmann (University of Innsbruck, Inorganic Chemistry), presents the research results on a new, bifunctional copper catalyst. The novel, copper-based, bifunctional catalyst molecule consists of two subunits and… Read more »

Researchers take another step towards artificial photosynthesis

By | March 17, 2025
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Credits: Michael Heinrich, pexels

With artificial photosynthesis, humanity could harness solar energy to capture carbon dioxide and produce hydrogen. Chemists from Würzburg and Seoul have taken this a step further: They have synthesized a stack of dyes that closely resembles the photosynthetic apparatus of plants. It absorbs light energy, uses it to separate charge carriers, and conducts them quickly and efficiently within the stack… Read more »

Hydrogen production: Self-optimizing catalysts can effectively split water

By | March 12, 2025
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Credits: anandasandra, pixabay

A team at JGU has developed cost-effective and efficient catalysts for water splitting for green hydrogen production, whose performance surprisingly increases over time. Hydrogen is a much-discussed option on the path to CO₂-neutral energy production. Electricity from renewable sources – primarily wind and solar power – is used in electrolyzers to split water into its components oxygen and storable hydrogen… Read more »

Clean energy breakthrough: Palladium nanosheets pave the way for affordable hydrogen

By | March 5, 2025
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Credits: Geralt, pixabay

Hydrogen, as an emission-free alternative to fossil fuels, is increasingly becoming a key driver for a clean, sustainable future. While large-scale hydrogen production is promising, it requires expensive platinum-based catalysts. To address this challenge, researchers at Tokyo University of Science (TUS) have developed a novel hydrogen development catalyst using palladium nanosheets (PdDI) that achieves platinum-like efficiency… Read more »