Recent progress of green hydrogen production technology

Abstract

Overuse of fossil fuels led to energy crises and pollution. Thus, alternative energy sources are needed. Hydrogen, with its clean and high-density traits, is seen as a future energy carrier. Producing hydrogen from electricity can store renewable energy for a sustainable hydrogen economy. While much research on water electrolysis hydrogen production systems exists, comprehensive reviews of engineering applications are scarce. This review sums up progress and improvement strategies of common water electrolysis technologies (alkaline water electrolysis, proton exchange membrane water electrolysis, solid oxide water electrolysis, and anion exchange membrane water electrolysis, etc.), including component and material research and development. It also reviews these technologies by development and maturity, especially their engineering applications, discussing features and prospects. Bottlenecks of different technologies are compared and analyzed, and future directions are summarized. The aim is to link academic material research with industrial manufacturing.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

water electrolysis hydrogen production applications / alkaline water electrolysis (AWE) / proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) / solid oxide water electrolysis (SOEC) / anion exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE)

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