Does anyone have any idea if this is ‘for real’, or a slightly late April Fool’s joke?
A University of Alberta announcement came out on April 24, 2023:
https://www.ualberta.ca/news/news-re...solutions.html
It claims that one of its researchers accidentally found that a combination of two ‘Earth-Abundant’ metals creates a catalyst that efficiently splits water for hydrogen production. Better still, it can be used in any water; thus has the ability to create clean (potable) distilled water as a by-product.
Apparently, the commercialization of this catalyst is being handled by the researcher’s company, Dark Matter Materials:
https://www.dmmaterials.com/
It sounds too good to be true, to me, but maybe someone has some further insight.
Is a hydrogen production rate of 115 mL/min/g sufficient to be useful? At what rate would a fuel cell use Hydrogen to power, say, a car? At an estimated cost of CA$6.50 per kg of hydrogen, is the price reasonable? (Assuming that the product is real.) Apparently, the cost of hydrogen for vehicles in California is currently about US$16.50 – but that is for a very limited supply. There are projections of the price falling to as little as US$0.50/kg by 2050 for gray hydrogen. (Assuming that ‘The Hydrogen Economy’ takes off.)
Imagine the possibilities, though. You could ‘fill your tank’ with your garden hose, at home.
Thanks for any comments. The few articles that I have found seem to be reprints of the April 24th announcement.