The homemaker’s hydrogen generator: A report for IAHE student hydrogen design competition 2010

As a highly reactive gas, hydrogen presents significant challenges for its acquisition and safe storage. Consequently, the viability of a sustainable hydrogen economy greatly depends on the development of an efficient, cost-effective method of hydrogen production. One model for addressing this challenge is to deploy portable hydrogen generators for the home. The Princeton University Chapter of the International Association for Hydrogen Energy (IAHE-PU) has designed and created a generator that produces hydrogen through water electrolysis and optimizes cost effectiveness and portability while maximizing hydrogen output. For our proof-of-concept, the system utilizes simple household items with a Sharp ND130UJF 130W solar panel. In our design, Ni electrodes submerged in 8 M KOH solution in six glass containers were utilized to power an external circuit. Over 1 h, our system produced 8.61 L of hydrogen gas at an estimated cost of $8.58 per kilogram of hydrogen gas over the 25-year lifetime of the solar panel.