MIT Study shows making hydrogen with soda cans and seawater is scalable and sustainable [View all]

Graphical abstract. Credit: Cell Reports Sustainability (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.crsus.2025.100407

MIT Study shows making hydrogen with soda cans and seawater is scalable and sustainable

Jennifer Chu, Massachusetts Institute of Tech | news.mit.edu | June 3, 2025

Hydrogen has the potential to be a climate-friendly fuel since it doesn't release carbon dioxide when used as an energy source. Currently, however, most methods for producing hydrogen involve fossil fuels, making hydrogen less of a "green" fuel over its entire life cycle.

A new process developed by MIT engineers could significantly shrink the carbon footprint associated with making hydrogen.

Last year, the team reported that they could produce hydrogen gas by combining seawater, recycled soda cans, and caffeine. The question then was whether the benchtop process could be applied at an industrial scale, and at what environmental cost.

Now, the researchers have carried out a "cradle-to-grave" life cycle assessment, taking into account every step in the process at an industrial scale. For instance, the team calculated the carbon emissions associated with acquiring and processing aluminum, reacting it with seawater to produce hydrogen, and transporting the fuel to gas stations, where drivers could tap into hydrogen tanks to power engines or fuel cell cars. They found that, from end to end, the new process could generate a fraction of the carbon emissions that is associated with conventional hydrogen production.

In a study published today in Cell Reports Sustainability, the team reports that for every kilogram of hydrogen produced, the process would generate 1.45 kilograms of carbon dioxide over its entire life cycle. In comparison, fossil-fuel-based processes emit 11 kilograms of carbon dioxide per kilogram of hydrogen generated...more
https://news.mit.edu/2025/study-shows-making-hydrogen-soda-cans-seawater-scalable-sustainable-0603
also at: https://techxplore.com/news/2025-06-hydrogen-soda-cans-seawater-scalable.html

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