NewHydrogen expands green hydrogen technology research program at UCLA

NewHydrogen, Inc. has agreed to further expand the existing sponsored research agreement with the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) to develop technology to reduce the cost of green hydrogen production.

The new agreement expands the program’s scope to include the development of efficient and stable hydrogen production using PEM electrolyzers.

The goal of NewHydrogen’s sponsored research at UCLA is to lower the cost of green hydrogen by systematically reducing the cost and increasing the performance of critical components of hydrogen generators. These electrolyzers split water into oxygen and hydrogen and currently rely on rare materials such as iridium and platinum, which account for a substantial portion of the cost.

In 2021, researchers at UCLA funded by NewHydrogen developed a low-cost oxygen catalyst that does not use expensive iridium and significantly improved the performance of PEM electrolyzers. Also developed were hydrogen catalysts that use an order of magnitude less platinum or no platinum at all.

The company is currently incorporating its novel oxygen and hydrogen catalysts into a complete prototype electrolyzer. The agreement expands its technology focus to include additional component innovations related to gas diffusion layer, ion exchange membrane, and catalyst layer. The company’s ultimate goal is to develop a low-cost, high-performance electrolyzer consisting of multiple breakthrough components.

Dr. David Lee, CEO of NewHydrogen, said, “We look forward to seeing more achievements to drastically reduce the cost of producing green hydrogen as a result of expanding the sponsored research program.”