Researchers at Canada’s University of Toronto have used artificial intelligence to optimise the development of catalysts for the production of green hydrogen.

By definition, green hydrogen is produced by the electrolysis of water using electricity from renewable sources such as wind, solar or hydroelectric power. Electrolysis is the process of splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen using an electric current. The problem is that this operation currently requires the use of rare and/or expensive metals. That’s why researchers set out to develop the most effective alloy to make this process more efficient and more affordable. The results of their research are published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

The AI was able to evaluate over 36,000 combinations of metal oxides in record time. Needless to say, this saved the researchers a considerable amount of time, as they did not have to test each of these combinations beforehand. The alloy finally recommended by the AI, a mixture of ruthenium, chromium and titanium, was then tested in the laboratory to assess its performance. According to the researchers, it proved to be 20 times more stable and durable than their benchmark metal. Further tests will have to be carried out to ensure its reliability under real-life conditions.