Researchers from U of T Engineering and Fujitsu have developed a new way of searching through ‘chemical space’ for materials with desirable properties. The technique has resulted in a promising new catalyst material that could help lower the cost of clean hydrogen production.
The discovery represents an important step toward more sustainable ways of storing energy, including from renewable but intermittent sources, such as solar and wind power.
“Scaling up the production of what we call green hydrogen is a priority for researchers around the world because it offers a carbon-free way to store electricity from any source,” says Professor Ted Sargent (ECE), senior author on a newspaper published in Matter.
“This work provides proof-of-concept for a new approach to overcoming one of the key remaining challenges, which is the lack of highly active catalyst materials to speed up the critical reactions.”