The development web site of a plant for the manufacturing of hydrogen in Germany.
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A California-based startup backed by two pioneering scientists, one in all whom is a Nobel laureate, believes it’s on the cusp of a “quantum leap” within the hydrogen vitality race.
H2MOF, which was co-founded in 2021, is working to develop an answer for hydrogen storage by deploying the newest developments within the subject of molecularly engineered supplies.
It says a breakthrough in what it regards as the best problem dealing with the hydrogen economic system is only a matter of time.
“The production of hydrogen, as far as I’m aware, is a settled problem,” professor Fraser Stoddart, winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2016 and one of many co-founders of H2MOF, informed CNBC through videoconference.
“There are ample efficient ways of producing hydrogen. The big challenge that remains is to store it in a manner that stores a lot of it at low pressures and ambient temperatures,” Stoddart mentioned. “I am confident that one way or another we will get there of course.”
Hydrogen is the lightest and most considerable ingredient within the universe, and has lengthy been billed as one in all many potential vitality sources that might play a pivotal function within the inexperienced transition.
I’d say that within the subsequent couple of years we should always have the ability to make one other quantum leap ahead.
Professor Omar Yaghi
co-founder of H2MOF
Remodeling hydrogen into gas requires vitality. If produced utilizing renewable vitality, hydrogen’s solely local weather footprint is water, making it a lovely possibility for purposes corresponding to transportation and electrical energy era.
Presently, most hydrogen is produced utilizing fossil fuels corresponding to coal and pure fuel, a course of that generates planet-warming emissions.
Professor Omar Yaghi, founding father of reticular chemistry subject of science and co-founder of H2MOF, mentioned the corporate is searching for to compress hydrogen right into a small quantity with out having to make use of excessive strain or low temperatures.
“That’s really the holy grail of the field,” Yaghi mentioned. “How can we store enough hydrogen at room temperature and be able to use it for automobile fueling.”
H2MOF’s co-founders say they’re hoping the agency can overcome the excessive prices and vitality calls for related to conventional hydrogen storage strategies by designing prototype tanks that may retailer the energy-rich gas in a strong state.
Yaghi, who invented metal-organic framework (MOF) supplies, offering the inspiration for the startup’s title, mentioned it was troublesome to say exactly when H2MOF’s expertise would possibly have the ability to obtain a dramatic enchancment in hydrogen storage capability and security.
“But I would say that in the next couple of years we should be able to make another quantum leap forward,” Yaghi mentioned.
Hydrogen challenges
Hydrogen energy has been gaining momentum regardless of world headwinds corresponding to rising rates of interest and provide chain points.
Nations together with the USA, Germany, Japan and Australia have introduced or up to date nationwide hydrogen methods in recent times, searching for to increase their reliance on the fuel to shift to a low-carbon economic system.
An trade report revealed late final 12 months by the Hydrogen Council, a enterprise group, discovered that the hydrogen mission pipeline had climbed to $570 billion, a 35% improve from simply six months earlier.
The report mentioned that whereas progress in world hydrogen investments via to 2030 remained strong, additional tasks would should be introduced and present tasks would wish to mature quicker.
Hydrogen vehicles fueling up at True Zero in Fountain Valley in June 2023.
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Samer Taha, CEO and co-founder of H2MOF, mentioned an “intermediate solution” to the hydrogen storage problem would seemingly be achieved in just a few years.
“But reaching the holy grail? Probably more than a couple of years but not necessarily decades,” Taha informed CNBC through videoconference. “From the speed of research progress we see and being accelerated by AI and all these computer generated models, I predict that it is a matter of years not decades.”
H2MOF’s Stoddart endorsed his colleague’s timeline. “But it is always very difficult to predict the future,” he added.
Critics of hydrogen say that whereas the gas can play an essential function within the vitality transition, it might accomplish that solely in a manner that’s really climate-aligned. In any other case, it dangers growing health-harming air pollution and stalling clear vitality progress.
“There are challenges for sure,” Taha mentioned. “Electricity cannot really solve all the demand requirements of energy in all segments and all sectors. The only way to do that is that you need to provide an alternative fuel that has high energy intensity, similar or better than a fossil fuel, and currently the cleanest option we have is hydrogen.”
He added, “My point is sooner or later we will reach a bottleneck where no more electrification can be done and you must provide an alternative fuel, and that’s hydrogen.”