Toyota Research Institute (TRI) and Northwestern University are to work on a nanomaterial ‘data factory’ whose applications will cover clean hydrogen production, carbon dioxide removal from the air and solar cells.

Brian Storey, TRI senior director of energy and materials, said meeting the growing demand for mobility without emitting carbon is a major challenge.

“Through this partnership with Northwestern, we have significantly reduced the time it takes to test and find new materials that can be used in batteries and fuel cells to decarbonise transportation.”

While the first application of the data factory will be used to discover new catalysts to make fuel cell vehicles more efficient, TRI and Northwestern believe this method of materials discovery will have broader applications.

Chad Mirkin, Director of the International Institute for Nanotechnology and the George B. Rathmann Professor of Chemistry at Northwestern, said, “Together with TRI, we’re poised to empower the scientific community to find the best materials that can truly power the clean energy transition.”

Secure, resilient and sustainable clean energy supply chains are central to the global energy transition, according to a recent IEA report.

Compared with solar PV and EVs, low emissions hydrogen – produced by electrolysis or steam reforming of natural gas with carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) – is still in its infancy, with production of around 30kt via electrolysis and 0.7Mt via CCUS in 2021 (less than 0.8% of total hydrogen output).

A massive increase in electrolysis capacity is needed, from 0.3GW today to close to 850GW by 2030 and almost 3,600 GW by 2050.

Hydrogen is particularly promising as a means of storing low-emissions electricity to balance electricity systems and to drastically reduce emissions from sectors where emissions are hard to abate, notably long-distance transport and heavy industry.

H2 View’s Hydrogen in India – Snap Summit

With the launch of its national hydrogen strategy in recent weeks and growing interest in India’s bold ambitions to de-leverage from traditional fossil fuel-based energy, H2 View stages a Snap Summit to address the country’s path forward in hydrogen.

India plans to manufacture five million tonnes of green hydrogen per annum by 2030 and not just meet its own climate objectives but become a production and export hub for the clean fuel.

Some sources question a lack of detail over the wider ecosystem while others still point to the country’s reliance on coal power. Yet, the world’s third-largest energy consuming country is already embracing renewable energy, its solar power sector is moving forward, and data suggests coal’s hold over India’s power sector is steadily loosening. The grid is already evolving.

The question is, how can a renewable energy powerhouse fast-track to true sustainability with green hydrogen? Join H2 View and a programme of global hydrogen leaders to unlock answers and insights for the short, medium, and long-term future in India. Want to learn more? Click here.