New hydrogen breakthrough uses everyday tech to slash energy costs: ‘Already sold in the billions’

The Palo Alto, California-based tech company Fourier has found a way to make and distribute clean hydrogen cheaply and efficiently.

There are many commercial applications for this technology, which could slash the price of hydrogen in half.

As TechCrunch reported, Fourier has been focusing on making modular electrolyzers about the size of two side-by-side data server racks.

The company installs multiple small electrolyzers called “blades” and supplies water through a pump. The data center world inspired this design, which produces electricity from modified power supplies.

“We reprogram them, retrofit them to run electrolysis,” said Siva Yellamraju, Fourier’s co-founder and CEO. “It also allows us to use these components that are already sold in the billions.”

Fourier also drew inspiration from lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles.

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Making hydrogen production more affordable and efficient is critical to the global clean energy transition. Hydrogen has the potential to power our world with minimal pollution output, replacing traditional dirty energy fuels and releasing only water vapor instead of toxic gases.

Fortunately, scientists have made substantial breakthroughs in hydrogen production technology.

In addition to this development, researchers have studied how to replace rare and expensive iridium used in creating hydrogen fuel with the more common and cost-effective manganese. New electrolyzer designs push the green hydrogen industry forward, while abundant materials including sunlight and manure can also help make hydrogen fuel.

Fourier launched two lab-scale projects that produce approximately a kilogram of hydrogen per hour. Next, it plans to work on two commercial-scale pilot plants — one at a petrochemical plant and another at a company that makes airline parts.

Yellamraju said Fourier’s goal is to “push the overall efficiency problem and production problem into a data-optimization problem.”

Fourier plans to target customers that need 6-20 kilograms of hydrogen per hour, such as pharmaceutical, petrochemical, and ceramics manufacturers. The startup says its technology can reduce the per-kilogram cost of hydrogen from $13 or $14 to $6 or $7.

This promising technology has captured the attention of numerous investors, including General Catalyst, Paramark Ventures, Airbus Ventures, Borusan Ventures, GSBackers, MCJ Collective, and Positive Ventures.

Fourier’s mission is to “make hydrogen available safely, securely, and sustainably for a wide range of critical applications.” The company’s online journal tracks its progress toward energy resilience.

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