Biodesign Institute scientists study new ways to generate hydrogen

As researchers look for new sources of energy, hydrogen is considered a potential answer. As one of the key components of water, it is abundant and produces no pollution. But several technical challenges have hampered hydrogen development, including those pertaining to the splitting of water to produce hydrogen molecules. A group of ASU researchers at the Biodesign Institute has received a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to explore innovative methods for generating hydrogen.

The four-year grant is part of a new round of DOE funded projects in support of President George W. Bush’s Hydrogen Fuel Initiative, to address the technical and economic challenges in developing renewable and distributed hydrogen production technologies. Neal Woodbury, director of the Center for BioOptical Nanotechnology at the Biodesign Institute, is the principal investigator on the ASU grant, which he says will explore new ways to efficiently convert water into hydrogen. The research will focus on the development of new catalysts – materials that facilitate chemical conversion processes – for converting water to hydrogen.

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