GenHydro is shaping a global market for circular decarbonization by providing impactful zero-carbon energy solutions for a cleaner tomorrow.įor more information about GenHydro and to learn more about our technology capabilities and investor opportunities please Contact Us. With thanks to aluminum, the reactive metal essential to our approach, GenHydro is able to efficiently produce three renewable products: renewable energy, clean hydrogen, and alumina (aluminum oxide). Step 4: With a mix of hydrogen, aluminum oxide and excess steam leaving the reactor, the reaction is complete! The excess steam is then recycled to keep the reaction going without any need for additional energy input As this pressure builds and the hydrogen is freed, the now oxidized aluminum is broken into submicron particles and release high levels of thermal energy Step 3: As the steam makes its way through external cracks in the aluminum, hydrogen bubbles begin to form under the surface. Step 2: When exposed to high pressure and high temperature steam, the surface of the aluminum begins to corrode in milliseconds, freeing the hydrogen gas Step 1: Aluminum scrap is milled down to micron sized particles and combined with a chemical promoter that will help assist the reaction More reactive elements tend to gain or lose electrons. How does GenHydro’s reactor system technology work? Reactivity is an elements ability to ionize (gain or lose electrons) or share electrons.

The oxidized layer on the metal’s surface is not as easy to get around as it may seem, it requires energy and a chemical assist. To release the hydrogen, water needs a way to get beneath the oxidized surface of the metal and reach the metal that has not yet oxidized, that will take the oxygen from the water, and set the hydrogen free. Reactive metals actually take the oxygen from water molecules and leave H2 (hydrogen gas) behind. The process to clean hydrogen and energy continues with bonded hydrogen and oxygen (H2O). The compounds formed by these bonds are known as “oxides.” However, most metals when bonded with oxygen, will not fully form an oxide but will instead create an oxide layer on the surface of the metal that can potentially grow to overtake the entire metal. When oxygen and reactive metals are combined, they form a practically inseparable bond. This process starts with oxygen, the most abundant element on earth, that is also a highly reactive element. GenHydro has designed, refined and patented a highly cost-effective modality of harnessing this chemical reaction from waste aluminum materials.

Generating hydrogen from water through a reaction with aluminum is well-known science that has been practiced as far back as 2008 with the US-DOE. How do reactive metals help us generate emission-free hydrogen?

Periodic table reactive metals