Nov 26 2013
HyperSolar, Inc., the developer of a breakthrough technology to produce renewable hydrogen using sunlight and any source of water, today announced that it is evaluating commercial methods for onsite hydrogen production at distribution points or fueling stations to meet the demand created by the launch of fuel cell cars next year.
“We are strongly encouraged by the recent announcements of Hyundai, Honda, Toyota and other major auto manufacturers to begin shipping hydrogen fuel cell cars next year,” stated Tim Young, CEO of HyperSolar. “We believe our technology can address two serious drawbacks impeding major adoption of hydrogen automobiles: First, the lack of hydrogen production infrastructure near the point of distribution or the fueling stations is addressed by our solar hydrogen production process. Second, hydrogen is currently produced from a fossil fuel—natural gas—in a process that releases substantial amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
“Our cutting-edge research program at the University of California, Santa Barbara, led by Dr. Syed Mubeen Hussaini, continues to make impressive progress,” continued Young. “The recently announced 1.0 volt milestone is very exciting in that it provides us with a clear and encouraging roadmap to reach the 1.5 volts needed for water splitting. We believe that producing renewable hydrogen anywhere there is water and sunlight is the key to realizing cost-effective hydrogen production for use in fuel cell vehicles. Using our technology, hydrogen fueling stations could be built next to self-contained solar hydrogen production plants.”
HyperSolar’s research is centered on developing a low-cost and submersible hydrogen production particle that can split water molecules under the sun, emulating the core functions of photosynthesis. Each particle is a complete hydrogen generator that contains a novel high voltage solar cell bonded to chemical catalysts by a proprietary encapsulation coating. A video of an early proof-of-concept prototype can be viewed at http://hypersolar.com/application.php. HyperSolar recently extended its sponsored research agreement with UCSB to further the development.
More about hydrogen cars and hydrogen production challenges can be viewed in the following CBS news story: http://www.cbs.com/shows/cbs_this_morning/video/Exk_Lg_Ube0jvnHeM9bZ3TwsZehZfda1/hydrogen-cars-take-center-stage-at-l-a-auto-show/
About HyperSolar, Inc.
HyperSolar is developing a breakthrough, low-cost technology to make renewable hydrogen using sunlight and any source of water, including seawater and wastewater. Unlike hydrocarbon fuels, such as oil, coal and natural gas, where carbon dioxide and other contaminants are released into the atmosphere when used, hydrogen fuel usage produces pure water as the only byproduct. By optimizing the science of water electrolysis at the nano-level, our low-cost nanoparticles mimic photosynthesis to efficiently use sunlight to separate hydrogen from water to produce environmentally friendly renewable hydrogen. Using our low-cost method to produce renewable hydrogen, we intend to enable a world of distributed hydrogen production for renewable electricity and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. To learn more about HyperSolar, please visit our website at http://www.HyperSolar.com.