University of Toronto
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AI finds a cheaper way to make green hydrogen
Researchers at the University of Toronto are using artificial intelligence to accelerate scientific breakthroughs in the search for sustainable energy. They used the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) to confirm that an AI-generated “recipe” for a new catalyst offered a more efficient way to make hydrogen fuel.
To create green hydrogen, you pass electricity that’s been generated from renewable resources between two pieces of metal in water. This causes oxygen and hydrogen gases to be released. The problem with this process is that it currently requires a lot of electricity and the metals used are rare and expensive.
The AI program the team developed took over 36,000 different metal oxide combinations and ran virtual simulations to assess which combination of ingredients might work the best. Abed then tested the program’s top candidate in the lab to see if its predictions were accurate. The alloy, a combination of the metals ruthenium, chromium, and titanium in specific proportions, was a clear winner, according to Abed. “The computer’s recommended alloy performed 20 times better than our benchmark metal in terms of stability and durability,” said Abed. “It lasted a long time and worked efficiently.”