WVU Engineers Secure $15.8M Support for Hydrogen Production Research

West Virginia University (WVU) researchers had significant backing from the Department of Energy (DOE) with $15.8m funding for three research projects.

As part of the funding directed by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, these projects align with the DOE’s Hydrogen Shot goal – aiming to decrease the cost of clean hydrogen production to $1/kg.

The projects are stationed at the WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources. Here, the researchers are engrossed in enhancing a technology known as Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell (SOEC). SOECs transform water into hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis powered by electricity potentially sourced from renewable energy.

Edward Sabolsky, a professor at the Department of Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering, leads one of the projects, backed with $9.3m to design a microwave-energy powered furnace for SOEC manufacturing.

Another project is led by Xingbo Liu, an associate dean and a research group leader. The team received $4.5m to design a “proton-conducting” SOEC capable of outperforming traditional “oxygen-conducting” SOECs.

The third project, led by Wenyuan Li, an assistant professor at the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering is focusing on manufacturing SOECs using “ultrafast high-temperature sintering,” attracting $2m backing. This approach aims at reducing carbon emissions, energy consumption, time, and cost.

Collectively, the teams are focused on developing SOEC systems for hydrogen production that could substitute utilization of fossil energy in manufacturing and transportation fields. An example of this could be the steel industry replacing their fuel coke with hydrogen, subsequently reducing carbon emissions, a major contributor to climate change.

The SOECs’ processing requires ceramic layering exposed to temperatures between 1,000 and 1,400 degrees Celsius, making the process energy intensive and time-consuming. Sabolsky, aiming to make this process efficient, has substituted traditional thermal processing with “microwave-assisted processing.”

Commercialization of this technology can result in job creation and economic growth as Appalachia aims to build a regional infrastructure for hydrogen generation. Once ready, the prototype will be showcased to fuel cell companies to test the system on their proprietary ceramics. Sabolsky and his team aim to see the first sales of this new furnace design within a year after their research period concludes.

Liu emphasized that WVU’s efforts “will position this region as a leader in the hydrogen economy.” Utilizing the abundant natural gas in the Marcellus Shale, West Virginia can produce affordable, clean hydrogen.