NETL Researchers Scale Up Hydrogen Production, Advancing Clean Energy with Innovative Catalytic Methane Pyrolysis Technology.

NETL researchers have successfully scaled up hydrogen production tests by increasing the catalyst load from 500 grams to 4.5 kilograms, a significant step towards advancing the hydrogen production technology needed for a clean energy future. The patented NETL catalyst helps to enable a process called catalytic methane pyrolysis (CMP), which breaks down methane into hydrogen and solid carbon without creating carbon dioxide emissions. This and other clean methods of hydrogen production will be crucial for the growth of the future hydrogen economy supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), which aims to reduce the cost of clean hydrogen by 80% to one dollar per one kilogram in one decade through its Hydrogen Shot initiative. The CMP process provides several technical advantages over processes using other catalysts, including using a more effective and lower-cost catalyst.