New System Could Allow Cheap Hydrogen to Replace CNG, LPG Forever

Researchers at the University of Birmingham have developed a new low-temperature method for producing hydrogen that could significantly reduce costs compared to CNG and LNG.

Hydrogen is widely considered a key fuel for decarbonising heavy industry and transport, but around 95 percent of global production still relies on fossil fuels, mainly methane-based steam reforming, which generates large amounts of carbon dioxide.

The findings were published in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy.

The Birmingham team has demonstrated a thermochemical water-splitting process using a perovskite-based catalyst that operates at lower temperatures than conventional systems.

Traditional thermochemical hydrogen production requires temperatures of around 700–1000°C for operation and up to 1500°C for regeneration.

The new approach reduces the required temperature by up to 500°C. The catalyst enables hydrogen production at 150–500°C and regeneration at 700–1000°C.

The process could produce hydrogen more cheaply than both electrolysis-based green hydrogen and methane-based blue hydrogen with carbon capture.

The catalyst showed stable performance across multiple cycles with minimal structural degradation.