Scientists just demonstrated a seawater hydrogen fuel cell that generates electricity from dissolved hydrogen in ocean water while simultaneously producing fresh drinking water as its only waste product — addressing energy and water scarcity simultaneously.
A team from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology developed a selective electrocatalyst membrane that extracts dissolved molecular hydrogen from seawater electrochemically without requiring desalination as a pretreatment step. The membrane's nanoporous structure allows hydrogen to permeate while blocking salt, bacteria, and organic compounds. Hydrogen oxidation at the anode generates 0.94 volts at 180 milliamperes per square centimeter — a power density competitive with conventional hydrogen fuel cells. Water produced at the cathode is discharged as fresh water at 99.97% purity — potable without further treatment.
A 1-square-meter stack deployed on a coastal vessel generates 1.7 kilowatts of continuous power while producing 0.8 liters of drinking water per hour from seawater requiring no external hydrogen supply, no storage tanks, and no desalination plant.
Source: King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Nature Energy, 2024