Waste Materials Fuel New Hydrogen Production Method

Global demand for hydrogen reached almost 100 million tonnes in 2024, representing a two percent increase from 2023, according to the International Energy Agency’s Global Hydrogen Review 2025. The majority of this demand was met by hydrogen produced from fossil fuels without carbon capture, primarily driven by industrial needs.

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The sustainability of hydrogen is directly linked to its production method, determining if it is classified as green, blue, grey, or pink. Grey hydrogen, currently the most common type, is generated from natural gas through steam methane reforming, a process that emits significant carbon dioxide.

PhD student Hamed Heidarpour, from Ali Seifitokaldani’s Electrocatalysis Lab at McGill University in Montreal, explained that while hydrogen creation from water via electrolysis produces no carbon dioxide, this method is inefficient, expensive, and demands considerable electricity, often sourced non-renewably.

Researchers have developed a new approach utilising hydroxymethylfurfural, an organic compound derived from breaking down non-food plant materials like pulp and paper residue. Heidarpour noted that hydroxymethylfurfural serves as a model compound, with the broader concept applicable to a class of aldehydes obtainable from biomass processing or existing industrial streams.

Heidarpour stated that this new approach, while not directly competing with steam methane reforming solely on absolute cost, offers a uniquely different carbon profile. Unlike methods tied to fossil carbon and CO₂ emissions, aldehyde-assisted electrolysis can be fully decarbonised when powered by low-carbon electricity and biomass-derived feedstocks.

Compared to current green hydrogen pathways based on conventional water electrolysis, the primary distinction lies in energy efficiency. Heidarpour indicated that for the hydrogen market, this could mean production would no longer be limited to stand-alone electrolysers or centralised facilities.

Instead, hydrogen could be generated in integrated, site-specific systems, particularly where suitable aldehyde streams and renewable electricity are already available. The researchers believe this would create new production niches that are presently difficult to serve with conventional green hydrogen technologies.

Heidarpour explained that this approach enables dual-function systems, combining hydrogen generation with biomass or waste-stream valorisation, rather than producing hydrogen as a single product. This shifts a part of the hydrogen market from a pure energy model towards a hybrid chemical–energy model, where hydrogen production is coupled to existing industrial processes.

For the broader clean energy ecosystem, Heidarpour added that this introduces greater flexibility. It allows renewable electricity to be used more efficiently in certain settings, reduces reliance on energy-intensive oxygen evolution, and creates stronger links between clean power, biomass utilisation, and chemical manufacturing.

Heidarpour further clarified that this technology is not intended as a universal solution; its impact would be concentrated in locations with the right conditions. In those specific contexts, however, it could meaningfully lower the energy and carbon intensity of hydrogen production and complement.

Moving beyond the laboratory, Heidarpour said the next step involves extended durability testing under continuous operation, from hours to thousands of hours. This will also require using realistic feed streams rather than idealised laboratory conditions in industrial contexts where cost, reliability, and material availability are crucial.

The research was published in the *Chemical Engineering Journal* and conducted using beamlines at the Canadian Light Source, University of Saskatchewan.

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* Global hydrogen demand reached almost 100 million tonnes in 2024, largely met by fossil fuel production.

* Researchers at McGill University have developed a new method to produce hydrogen from waste materials, such as non-food plant residue.

* This aldehyde-assisted electrolysis offers a decarbonised, energy-efficient alternative to conventional hydrogen production methods.

Source: FORBES