Electrolysis

Engineers at the University of Liverpool have developed a robot scientist that can autonomously perform experiments, analyze results and decide what to do next based on those results – and it’s already making new discoveries on its own

Researchers at Rice University have built a simple new solar-powered device that can create hydrogen for fuel by splitting water. It's similar to other “artificial leaf” designs but the team says it’s self-sufficient and relatively cheap to produce.

Australian scientists claim they've worked out a much cheaper, more efficient way to split hydrogen out of water, using easily sourced iron and nickel catalysts. The discovery could greatly improve the equation for "green" hydrogen.

Making cement is one of the biggest contributors of carbon emissions. Now MIT researchers have developed a new method that can clean up the process.

Zapping hydrogen out of water through electrolysis is the cleanest way to produce the fuel, but that requires rare-Earth metal catalysts. Researchers have now developed a quick and inexpensive alternative, making a “nanofoam” catalyst out of nickel and iron that performs better than usual.

Clean and plentiful, hydrogen is a promising fuel source, but there are a few problems in the path to mainstream use. South Korean scientists have now developed a new system for producing hydrogen from water, which that they say overcomes some of these issues and produces the gas more efficiently.

Hydrogen is a clean fuel source, and using sunlight and water is the cleanest way to produce it. Now, engineers from Columbia University are developing a “solar fuels rig” that floats on the ocean, captures energy through a solar cell and uses it to harvest hydrogen from the water beneath it.

A Finnish research project has created a batch of protein using electricity, water, carbon dioxide and microbes, in a small portable lab. The stuff is edible and nutritious enough for cooking or livestock feed, and the system could eventually be used to grow food in areas where it’s needed the most.

Australian researchers have found that pre-treating lithium electrodes in a special salt bath decreases the breakdown of the electrodes and boosts performance and battery life so markedly it could bring an end to range anxiety for drivers of electric vehicles.

Researchers at Monash University claim to have created a solar-powered device that splits water to produce hydrogen at a world-record 22 percent efficiency, which is a significant step towards making cheap, efficient hydrogen production a reality.

Audi is making a new fuel for internal combustion engines that has the potential to make a big dent when it comes to climate change – that's because the synthetic diesel is made from just water and carbon dioxide.

Multiple efforts are underway to put people on Mars, but they may not succeed for decades. In the meantime, a new space race is on to create breathable air on the Red Planet.