Recent Progress of Green Hydrogen Production Technology
Source：FCW
Researchers from China University of Petroleum-Beijing, et al. have conducted a study entitled “Recent progress of green hydrogen production technology”. This study was published in Front. Chem. Sci. Eng., Volume 19, Issue 10.
Hydrogen energy is a clean, efficient secondary energy source and key carrier for global energy transformation, while water electrolysis hydrogen production technology—capable of using renewable energy for green hydrogen production—boasts advantages like environmental friendliness, high hydrogen purity, and strong flexibility, playing a vital role in the hydrogen energy industry; the Chinese government highly values the industry’s development, with broad industrial prospects. This technology is mainly divided into four paths by electrolyzer diaphragm materials: alkaline water electrolysis (AWE), proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE), solid oxide water electrolysis (SOEC), and anion exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE). The study summarizes the progress and improvement strategies of these four technologies, focusing on key materials R&D (membranes, electrode catalysts, electrolytes), engineering applications, bottlenecks, and future directions: AWE is mature with low cost but faces electrode corrosion and poor dynamic response; PEMWE has high current density and fast response but is limited by high membrane and precious metal catalyst costs; SOEC operates at high temperature with high efficiency but has material stability and sealing issues; AEMWE uses non-precious metal catalysts but has low ionic conductivity and membrane stability. In engineering applications, AWE dominates large-scale hydrogen production, PEMWE suits distributed and renewable energy integration scenarios, SOEC is in the demonstration stage with industrial waste heat utilization potential, and AEMWE is developing toward megawatt-level with cost and adaptability advantages. The study also notes that future development should focus on improving efficiency, reducing costs, enhancing system stability, and integrating with renewable energy.