Last year, a team at MIT developed a system to safely and efficiently generate hydrogen using aluminum cans, seawater, and caffeine. Recently, researchers conducted a study to evaluate the environmental and economic impacts of implementing this system for widespread use in vehicles.

For such a promising development, the actual process is surprisingly simple. Pure aluminum reacts with water to produce hydrogen, but when exposed to oxygen, it forms an aluminum oxide layer that slows or even stops the reaction entirely. To counter this, the researchers added a metal alloy of indium and gallium, which penetrates the oxide layer and allows the reaction to proceed. However, this introduced another challenge: the indium-gallium alloy is relatively rare, and scalability was crucial for the system’s viability. During testing, the team discovered they could “recycle” the alloy using an ionic solution. The ions prevent the alloy from reacting with water, turning it into a reusable form. Fortunately, seawater—an abundant, naturally ionic resource—fit the bill. But seawater also inhibits aluminum’s reaction with water, just as it does with the alloy, significantly slowing the process. That’s where the final piece of the puzzle came in: caffeine. On a whim, the researchers added caffeine to the solution—and remarkably, it boosted hydrogen production, generating in five minutes what would have otherwise taken two hours. That was last year.

This year, a study was conducted on the entire life cycle of this system—from the recycling of aluminum cans to the potential transport of hydrogen to gas stations—to determine scalability and sustainability of widespread use of this system. The study found that for every kilogram of hydrogen produced, 1.45 kilograms of carbon dioxide was also released. The CO₂ released was spread across the production of aluminum, its reaction with seawater to make hydrogen, and the transport of fuel to fuel stations. This rate is comparable to other sustainable hydrogen solutions such as solar or wind.

It seems to me as time goes on, hydrogen power is becoming increasingly relevant and is appearing frequently as a potential solution to the fossil fuel issue.
And this makes sense.
Hydrogen is almost the ideal fuel source, as its combustion produces no exhaust except for water. However, challenges with liquid hydrogen and its reactivity still pose difficulties for its adoption. Obviously, hydrogen is one of the most reactive elements in the world, and ensuring the safety of systems using it should remain a top priority. While I myself am excited for the future, I’m not sure our current technology is enough to guarantee safety of passengers in hydrogen-powered cars. Even if it’s possible, which it probably is somehow, I’m not even sure our society is ready for such a rapid change. Online discourse, at least from what I’ve seen, mainly highlights the problems and disadvantages that may arise from hydrogen vehicles. But whatever the collective opinion, I am content for this technology to run its course, whether towards catastrophic failure or maybe–just maybe usher in a new era of automobiles. Stay hopeful.