Hydrogen: invisible but green

Hydrogen fuel cells are often touted as a viable, alternative fuel source. They produce no emissions save for water vapour, and the components in the reaction used to create electricity are oxygen and hydrogen. But, ironically, creating this alternative fuel source usually requires natural gas, a fossil fuel whose processing releases CO2, which in turn means the cells don’t really reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions.

Add to this that the electricity used in the process still comes largely from coal-fired plants, which produce 19 per cent of Canada’s energy, and the fuel cells lose some of their green lustre.

But a team of researchers at Penn State University have discovered a method of separating water into its constituent hydrogen and oxygen molecules using solar energy and titanium and copper “nanotubes.” The solar energy channeled into the nanotubes causes the water molecules to break apart, producing the required hydrogen and oxygen.

Though the process is currently too inefficient (and therefore, too expensive) for commercial use, the technology suggests that, even if fuel cell technology isn’t able to deliver on its ambitious promise of a new, zero-emission power source, it may be able to one day.