Hydrogen—the single most common element in the universe—fuels burning stars, and if we could harness hydrogen, we could fuel the world’s energy needs.
But there’s a problem. Hydrogen is difficult to come by here, on Earth. Hydrogen doesn’t exist naturally as a gas. We find hydrogen in countless organic compounds, from the fossil fuels we use today to the emissions of bacteria and algae. But in these organic compounds, hydrogen is always combined with other elements.
“Hydrogen is a fuel that is environmentally benign, but the problem lies in how to produce it,” says Dr. Greg Naterer, Canada Research Chair in Advanced Energy Systems and. Associate Dean in the faculty of Engineering and Applied Science at University of Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa, Ontario.
Water, a combination of two hydrogen molecules and oxygen, covers more than 70 per cent of the Earth’s surface, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Taking hydrogen from this vast reservoir and turning it into fuel is a difficult process, but one many scientists say is worth exploring.
To split the water molecule into hydrogen and oxygen, a scientist needs heat—a lot of heat. “You’re not going to be able to split the molecule until you’ve got a heat source around 2500 C,” says Naterer. “This is just not feasible.”
In the 1970s, General Atomics developed the sulphur-iodine cycle for splitting water molecules. Essentially, sulphur and iodine compounds are introduced to the water. This produces a water molecule that only requires temperatures of around 850 C to separate, a temperature current generation nuclear reactors can reach.
Countries like Japan, the U.S., and France have used the sulphur-iodine cycle to develop nuclear hydrogen production programs with the aim of one day reaching a point of commercially viable hydrogen production. The Japan Atomic Energy Agency currently supports research into the sulphur-iodine cycle, as does the French Atomic and Alternative Energies Commission and a number of U.S. Department of Energy laboratories. As a result, the world hydrogen market is strong—currently around $300 billion—and expanding.
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