On May 13, according to the News Office of Zhejiang University, researcher Hou Yang from the School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering of Zhejiang University designed and developed a single-atom OER (a reaction that generates oxygen) catalyst that can electrolyte/photoelectrocatalyze water. The cracking oxygen desorption reaction is more efficient, thus improving the efficiency of hydrogen production. This new catalyst can reduce the cost of hydrogen production by 80%. Hydrogen is known as the "ultimate energy" in the 21st century, and efficient and cheap production has become a key part of the marketization of hydrogen energy. Especially in the development of hydrogen vehicles, if hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are to enter the homes of ordinary people, the feasibility of producing hydrogen as a raw material is crucial. In 2017, the first "Research Report on the Future Development Trend of Hydrogen Energy" released by the International Hydrogen Energy Committee pointed out that by 2050, through larger-scale popularization, hydrogen energy will account for about 20% of the entire energy consumption, and the annual carbon dioxide Emissions can be reduced by about 6 billion tons compared with today. Electrolysis of water hydrogen production technology frequently breaks through Where does hydrogen come from? The main technical methods include hydrogen production from traditional energy fossil raw materials, hydrogen production from chemical raw materials, hydrogen production from industrial exhaust gas, hydrogen production from electrolyzed water, and new hydrogen production technologies. At this stage, the main method used to produce hydrogen in our country is the fossil fuel hydrogen production method. A research report from CITIC Securities pointed out that my country is the world’s largest hydrogen producer and consumer, accounting for about 30% of the world. In 2018, the country's industrial hydrogen production was about 25 million tons, of which fossil fuel hydrogen production accounted for about 65%, industrial by-product hydrogen accounted for about 24%, and electrolyzed water accounted for about 1%. Theoretically speaking, producing oxygen through water splitting and then forming hydrogen is the most common method of preparing hydrogen. However, the electro/photoelectrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) it produces will limit the overall energy conversion efficiency. Therefore, the development of cheap and efficient catalysts has become the key to the promotion of hydrogen production by electrolysis of water. A commonly used commercial catalyst for oxygen evolution is iridium dioxide, but the price per gram of iridium is nearly twice that of gold, and the cost of producing hydrogen from iridium dioxide is higher than the cost of gasoline required to convert it to the same energy. Another kind of ruthenium metal that can be used as a catalytic element is cheaper, but in a strong acidic and strongly oxidizing environment, ruthenium dioxide is easily oxidized to ruthenium tetroxide at high working potential and loses catalytic activity. Not long ago, Professor Wu Yuen's research group at the University of Science and Technology of China used innovative technology to develop a new type of ruthenium single-atom alloy catalyst, taking an important step towards promoting the industrial application of "electrolysis of water for hydrogen production". This result was selected as the cover article of "Nature Catalysis" (a sub-issue of the academic magazine "Nature") in April this year. This is not the only recent scientific breakthrough in the field of hydrogen energy. According to a report by Science and Technology Daily on April 1, a team of researchers Han Hongxian and academician Li Can from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, collaborated with Japan's RIKEN to develop a long-life, low-cost catalyst that can electrolyze water to produce hydrogen under strong acid conditions. . The aforementioned achievement of Zhejiang University is to design and develop a single-atom OER catalyst through a bionics method, anchoring highly dispersed nickel single atoms on a nitrogen-sulfur doped porous nanocarbon substrate for high-efficiency electricity. /Photoelectrocatalytic water splitting and oxygen desorption reaction. This result was reported online by the well-known academic magazine Nature Communications. The fuel cost of hydrogen energy vehicles may drop significantly. Why is it necessary to electrolyze water to produce hydrogen? A research report from the Qianzhan Industry Research Institute pointed out that currently there is a profit margin for hydrogen production from coal gasification and natural gas reforming relative to the selling price of oil. However, using fossil fuels to produce hydrogen is unsustainable and cannot solve the fundamental contradiction between energy and the environment. It also produces high carbon emissions and is unfriendly to the environment. Hydrogen production by electrolyzing water is sustainable and low-pollution. With the decline of electricity prices, technological development and scale effect, the electrolysis of water industry is about to rise. At a time when the development of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles has frequently ushered in favorable policies, what impact does the technological breakthrough of industrial-grade water electrolysis to produce hydrogen have on hydrogen vehicles? Hou Yang, a researcher at the School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering at Zhejiang University, said that the new generation of fuel cell vehicles places important demands on high energy density, and the hydrogen energy produced by water splitting will play an important role. This achievement demonstrates the potential of industrial-grade water electrolysis to produce hydrogen, which may help a new generation of hydrogen vehicles reduce fuel costs on a large scale. Currently, cost is a major obstacle restricting the large-scale application of hydrogen production through electrolysis of water. Fang Ming, an analyst at Zhuochuang Information, told a reporter from the 21st Century Business Herald that the cost of producing hydrogen by electrolyzing water is about 3-4 yuan per cubic meter. If the cost can really be reduced by 80%, and the price of hydrogen production is 1-2 yuan per cubic meter lower than other methods, it will certainly become a very ideal choice. Not only universities and scientific research institutions, but also enterprises are aiming to reduce costs by electrolyzing water to produce hydrogen. The person in charge of a fuel cell vehicle R&D company in Shenzhen told reporters that the company not long ago applied to the Guangdong Provincial Department of Science and Technology for a new technology for rapid electrolysis of water to produce hydrogen. "The new technology has two advantages. First, it is fast and can produce about 20 kilograms of hydrogen in one hour; second, it is cheaper." The person in charge said that hydrogen produced by electrolysis of water has high purity and few impurities, and reforming and cracking can produce hydrogen. The purity and sulfur content of hydrogen are not sufficient for fuel cells. Once the sulfur content is too high, it will cause great damage to the fuel cell. As for the purification process, China has not yet independently produced equipment for detecting trace elements. Zhang Zhejun, executive deputy general manager of Guohong Hydrogen Energy, told the 21st Century Business Herald reporter that the direction of the country's support for the development of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles is now very clear, and people from all walks of life are very enthusiastic and are actively promoting and doing something. Zhang Zhejun said that the situation in different places is different. In some places, coal and natural gas are abundant. In some places, industrial by-product hydrogen is enough. In some places, power curtailment is serious and the cost of electricity is lower. This leads to different choices of hydrogen production methods. Same. "As the production of hydrogen vehicles becomes more large-scale, if the cost of electrolyzing water to produce hydrogen is significantly reduced, this will become a mainstream method." Zhang Zhejun said.

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