First hydrogen production by direct electrolysis of seawater

China successfully tested hydrogen production technology at sea by directly electrolyzing seawater on June 2 at the Xinghua Bay offshore wind farm.

The test used Dongfu No. 1, a floating platform for offshore hydrogen production, and was verified by a team of experts from the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE). Dongfang Electric Power Corporation (DEC) jointly developed the platform with the team of Xie Heping, an academician at CAE. It integrates multiple systems, including an on-site hydrogen production system, intelligent energy conversion management, control, and safety assurance.

It is the world's first floating hydrogen platform that combines renewable energy, according to DEC, one of the world's largest manufacturers of power generation equipment. The platform has been operating stably for more than 240 hours after being tested by high winds, 1-meter-high waves and rainstorms.

The ocean is the largest source of hydrogen. However, the complex composition of seawater – more than 90 chemical elements, a large number of microorganisms and suspended particles – creates problems with corrosion and toxicity, catalyst deactivation, reduced electrolysis efficiency and many other technical obstacles and challenges.

The indirect method of seawater electrolysis relies on large-scale desalination equipment, making the process complex, expensive, and land-intensive. For the direct method of seawater electrolysis (without desalination), for nearly half a century there has been no breakthrough that prevents the complex components in seawater from affecting the hydrogen production system. Currently, water electrolysis technologies often rely on ultra-pure freshwater.

Xie said their method can separate the effects of more than 90 complex elements and microorganisms in seawater, changing conventional hydrogen production methods. According to Xie, the strategy of direct seawater electrolysis combined with offshore wind power could change the way the world develops energy in the future.

The related research was published in the journal Nature on November 30, 2022, and was also rated by China's Ministry of Science and Technology as one of the top 10 scientific advances of 2022.

Thu Thao (According to CGTN )

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