![]() ![]() The second problem is that pure aluminum is energy-intensive to mine and produce, so any practical approach needs to use scrap aluminum from various sources. To that end, a practical system must include a means of first modifying the oxide layer and then keeping it from re-forming as the reaction proceeds. The first problem is ensuring that the aluminum surface is clean and available to react with water. Two problems have kept aluminum from being employed as a safe, economical source for hydrogen generation. “Using aluminum as our source, we can ‘store’ hydrogen at a density that’s 10 times greater than if we just store it as a compressed gas.” Hart, professor of mechanical engineering at MIT. “Fundamentally, the aluminum becomes a mechanism for storing hydrogen - and a very effective one,” says Douglas P. Simply move the aluminum and then react it with water on-site. ![]() Using the aluminum-water reaction to generate hydrogen doesn’t produce any greenhouse gas emissions, and it promises to solve the transportation problem for any location with available water. That reaction doesn’t typically take place because a layer of aluminum oxide naturally coats the raw metal, preventing it from coming directly into contact with water. Aluminum metal will readily react with water at room temperature to form aluminum hydroxide and hydrogen. In addition, hydrogen is often produced in one location and consumed in another, which means its use also presents logistical challenges.Īnother option for producing hydrogen comes from a perhaps surprising source: reacting aluminum with water. Today, almost all hydrogen is produced using fossil fuel-based processes that together generate more than 2 percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions. It could be used in fuel cell vehicles, heat-producing boilers, electricity-generating gas turbines, systems for storing renewable energy, and more.īut while using hydrogen doesn’t generate carbon emissions, making it typically does. As the world works to move away from fossil fuels, many researchers are investigating whether clean hydrogen fuel can play an expanded role in sectors from transportation and industry to buildings and power generation.
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