The adoption of hydrogen energy as a clean fuel source has stalled due to its lack of affordability. The University of Delaware aims to change that.
The new Center for Clean Hydrogen seeks to accelerate the country’s transition to clean energy by reducing the cost of hydrogen technologies.
The center will be led by UD professor Dr. Yushan Yan, chair of chemical and biomolecular engineering. He says the center is a big step in combating climate change.
“I feel this center, the celebration today, is the beginning of a big movement. Hydrogen technology can do a lot for all of us and this planet. And I’m very excited to do a lot more in the future,” said Yan.
Initial funding for the center came in the form of $15 million from the government’s FY2022 Appropriations Bill.
Sen. Chris Coons says this investment will create change on a large scale, specifically pointing to its potential to improve air quality, make progress in decarbonizing industrial sectors, and create jobs in Delaware.
“The opportunities for green hydrogen globally, as well as here in the United States, are limitless. And this is the center at which that innovation will happen,” said Coons.
The center will bring in industry partners in the hydrogen field from institutions like Chemours and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory to collaborate on research to create and test new hydrogen technologies on a commercial scale
Alex Oliveira is a 4th year Chemical Engineering PhD Candidate working with the Yushan Yan group at UD. She says the public-private partnership the center is developing will help to greatly advance hydrogen research.
“Everything we do is very small scale, very lab scale. And we’re working on a lot of interesting, new ideas. For electrolysis we’re using DI water, we’re using tap water, we’re trying to use sea water so it’s more accessible. And companies have the experience to scale up those processes, whereas right now it seems like the only people working on it are a couple of scattered labs around the world,” explained Oliviera.
Yan has worked with Chemours in the past, and says he’s excited to continue the partnership in this new endeavor.
“Chemours has been an incredible industrial collaborator,” said Yan. “It is simply the best I’ve had in the past 25 years as a faculty member. I’ve heard many companies talking about open innovation: Chemours does it.”
Additional funding for the center, as well as more industry partnerships, are expected in the future.
