“Will play an essential role”

A team of South Korean researchers just took a big step toward a cleaner, more efficient energy future, and it could transform the way the world produces hydrogen.

Scientists from the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) have successfully developed and tested the country’s first 20-kilowatt-class solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) system, achieving more than 3,000 hours of continuous operation with an electrical efficiency of 83 percent, as reported by Tech Xplore.

This breakthrough is a step forward for hydrogen energy – a fuel that burns cleanly, leaving behind only water vapor. Efficient hydrogen production has long been a challenge because traditional electrolysis requires large amounts of electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. KIMM’s new system solves this problem by harnessing waste heat from nearby industrial sources such as steel or chemical plants.

By converting this heat into steam, the SOEC system reduces electricity consumption by 15% compared to existing technologies and reduces hydrogen production costs by approximately 25%. The system’s reliability under real-world conditions – including power fluctuations and steam supply interruptions – shows that it is almost ready to move to the big leagues.

KIMM’s next goal is to increase efficiency beyond 85% and reduce hydrogen production costs to around $2.20 per kilogram, which could make it one of the most affordable clean hydrogen technologies in the world.

If successful, this innovation could reshape the global energy game. Hydrogen is essential for decarbonizing heavy industries and powering next-generation fuel cells, while reducing our dependence on dirty energy sources such as oil and gas.

Clean hydrogen produced from renewable or nuclear energy could one day power everything from steelmaking to long-distance transportation without adding carbon pollution to the atmosphere that causes the planet to overheat.

Similar advances in energy efficiency are helping communities around the world transition to a greener future. From creating hydrogen from seawater to producing hydrogen from natural sunlight, new technologies are making sustainable energy more accessible and affordable than ever.

Innovations like these, from advanced hydrogen systems to everyday solar solutions, are paving the way for a cleaner, more resilient energy future for us all.

“By integrating underutilized energy sources such as industrial waste heat, this technology enables high-efficiency, low-cost clean hydrogen production, which will play a critical role in achieving carbon neutrality and advancing the hydrogen economy,” said Dr. Young Sang Kim, principal investigator at KIMM, in a press release.

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