New stainless steel developed by HKU professor team to reduce costs for green hydrogen production
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Update time : 2024-11-27 16:00:52
The team of Professor Mingxin Huang of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) has developed a new technology called stainless steel for hydrogen (SS-H2), which provides a cost-effective and corrosion-resistant solution for green hydrogen production.
Green hydrogen uses renewable electricity to split water to generate hydrogen and oxygen, which has great potential for reducing carbon emissions. However, the current high material cost of electrolysis systems hinders its popularity.
Traditional electrolytic systems often use gold- or platinum-coated titanium, which is expensive, while SS-H2 provides corrosion resistance equivalent to titanium at a relatively low cost.
This breakthrough is based on an innovative “sequential dual-passivation” technique, combining chromium- and manganese-based protective layers, allowing SS-H2 to perform well in harsh environments such as salt water. It can even withstand ultra-high potentials of up to 1700 millivolts.
Compared to traditional stainless steel, the manganese base layer of SS-H2 further enhances corrosion resistance and breaks through the limitations of chromium-based stainless steel in highly oxidative environments. This technology reduces maintenance costs, increases hydrogen production efficiency, and paves the way for extracting green hydrogen directly from seawater.
The development of SS-H2 not only advances global decarbonization goals but also demonstrates the importance of scientific exploration toward a clean energy future.
