Making hydrogen today is a pretty dirty business. But that is changing as more companies seek ways to decarbonize the economy.
One increasingly popular approach is applying renewable energy sources to centuries-old electrolysis to split molecules of hydrogen — the most abundant element in the universe — from its bonds with oxygen.
An electrolyzer separates water into oxygen and hydrogen, effectively the opposite of a fuel cell, which uses water and electricity to separate hydrogen and oxygen, creating water vapor as the only emission. In an electrolyzer, water is pushed through a stack with electricity. That pulls apart hydrogen and oxygen atoms.
Producing emissions-free hydrogen is attracting federal and state incentives at unheard of levels. It bodes well for fuel cell electric vehicles. Especially long-haul trucks that could travel up to 1,000 miles on a…