Researchers use AI to transform green hydrogen production

Researchers have made a significant breakthrough in green hydrogen production by using AI to discover a more efficient and cost-effective catalyst.

Traditionally, green hydrogen is produced through an energy-intensive process that relies on expensive and rare metals. However, the new AI-driven method developed by a team at the University of Saskatchewan, in collaboration with the Canadian Light Source (CLS), rapidly identified a promising alloy combination of ruthenium, chromium, and titanium. This AI program analysed over 36,000 metal oxide combinations, vastly speeding up the process of finding the optimal catalyst, which was then validated through laboratory tests and further assessed using ultra-bright X-rays at CLS.

The identified alloy not only outperformed the current benchmark metal but also demonstrated "20 times better stability and durability," according to Jehad Abed, one of the researchers involved. Although the new catalyst shows great potential, extensive real-world testing is still necessary to confirm its effectiveness under practical conditions.

This AI-driven approach represents a major advancement, reducing the time needed for such discoveries from years to just days, marking a pivotal moment in the quest for affordable green hydrogen.

Read more: Game-changing method makes green hydrogen production cheaper