Green energy is often viewed as a distant dream or prohibitively expensive compared to cheap yet dirty fossil fuels. But what if green energy could become as cost-competitive as fossil fuels or even cheaper? Hydrogen, an abundant environmental resource, is widely thought to be the clean energy to replace fossil fuels and address the climate crisis caused by carbon emissions. Unlike fossil fuels, which are finite and generate greenhouse gases, hydrogen is abundant and emits only water vapor, making it an ideal renewable energy source.
The U.S. Department of Energy has implemented the “Hydrogen Shot” initiative, which aims to reduce the cost and abundance of hydrogen fuel to just $1 per 1 kilogram within the next decade, making this green energy affordable for all. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 1 kilogram of hydrogen contains around 33 kilowatt-hours of usable energy – enough to power an American household for an entire day.
However, hydrogen (H2) faces several challenges before it can become the earth’s primary energy source. H2 is rarely found in its pure state on Earth. It must be separated from other elements, such as water (H2O) and fossil fuels. While hydrogen has high energy density and chemical stability, its production remains costly – and sometimes dirty. Scientists have classified the various methods of producing hydrogen and their corresponding carbon emissions into ‘the Colors of Hydrogen.’
To address this issue, the Hydrogen Shot initiative created the foundation for more movement and innovation to make affordable, clean hydrogen accessible at scale. This initiative supports projects that bring us closer to achieving the goal of $1 per 1 kilogram within 1 decade (the “1-1-1” goal). It also aligns closely with the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 while creating job opportunities.
$1 per kilogram for clean hydrogen would be an 80% reduction from hydrogen’s current cost of about $5 per kilogram. Additionally, a movement to a hydrogen economy could create up to 700,000 jobs by 2030, boosting the U.S. economy. The DOE also notes that hydrogen usage could reduce U.S. industry carbon emissions by 16% by 2050. The Hydrogen Shot initiative has propelled DOE support for innovations that bring at-scale hydrogen closer to reality.
Oceanit’s HALO (Hydrogen-recovery using Arc-plasma Learning Optimization) is one such innovation: an AI-driven system that uses directed energy to recover H2 from water, including sea water and “produced water” which is a byproduct of oil and natural gas extraction.
HALO applies the process of plasma gasification, a waste-treatment technology that uses an extreme thermal environment using electricity (plasma) to turn organic matter into synthetic gas such as hydrogen. When fed with the toxic oil byproduct, produced water, HALO can extract not only H2, but other valuable elements and metals like lithium.
As HALO recycles produced water into useful elements, it serves as an efficient solution to the over 20 billion barrels of produced water generated annually, which can harm human and environmental health. 60 percent of the chemicals used in oil operations are deemed most likely to pose health risks ranging from headaches, nausea to breathing difficulties, leukemia and even death when exposed to high concentrations.
HALO is also being developed to use saline water, like seawater, as a feedstock for H2 production, unlocking a literal ocean of potential for clean hydrogen. The current state of the art for seawater electrolysis requires a three-step desalination treatment before seawater can be used in an electrolyzer for H2 production. However, HALO is able to eliminate this complex and costly process by extracting hydrogen while producing value-added minerals.
At the Oceanit Technology Showcase 2024, Oceanit unveiled the latest HALO device, scaled up tenfold from the previous version. It has improved efficiency in producing hydrogen and is undergoing further refinement at Oceanit’s Houston facilities and with regional energy partners. The team is also training the AI to be more efficient in all stages of the extraction process.
“To maximize cost and energy efficiency, we are putting in fixed energy input into the system and changing different parameters using AI to get the highest amount of hydrogen from the system,” said Dr. Patrick K. Sullivan, CEO and founder of Oceanit.
Pursuing affordable hydrogen energy is not just a technical challenge but a crucial step toward a sustainable future. With initiatives like the DOE’s Hydrogen Shot program and innovations like Oceanit’s HALO system, we are steadily moving toward bringing down the Green Premium—a term coined by Bill Gates to describe the extra cost of using environmentally friendly technologies— so that making clean energy becomes the standard for all.
