Michelin in R&D collaboration for green hydrogen production
18 Mar 2025
Link-up targets challenges of emerging energy resource which continues to be difficult to use on an industrial level
Clermont-Ferrand, France – Michelin, the CNRS, Grenoble Alpes University (UGA), Savoie Mont Blanc University (USMB) and Grenoble INP – UGA are joined forces to develop a low-carbon and sustainable hydrogen production.
The aim is to develop a hydrogen production technology using water by “designing next generation materials composed of elements that abound in the earth’s crust,” said Michelin’s 17 Mar announcement.
Launched on 14 March, the four-year programme represents the third ‘LabCom pooling’ of Michelin and CNRS expertise in the field of green hydrogen production technologies.
“At the present time, we are still to find a method for producing hydrogen on a large and sustainable scale,” according to the statement.
Currently, it said, hydrogen is largely generated from fossil resources such as natural gas, obtained via coal gasification, or generated from fossil fuels with carbon capture.
There are now several methods for producing green hydrogen using water. The first is AWE alkaline water electrolysis, which circulates electrical current through a solution of potassium hydroxide and water.
While widely used in industry, this technology does not create ultra-pure hydrogen at a high speed and is difficult to couple with renewable energies.
A newer type of water electrolyser, PEMWE, which uses a polymer membrane, impermeable to gas (hydrogen and oxygen) allows ultra-pure gas production with a higher yield – but relies on rare and noble metal catalysts.
With support from the Michelin R&D Center in Clermont-Ferrand, the new research partnership, under the aegis of CNRS researcher, Frédéric Maillard, hope to develop water electrolysis technology combining the best of both worlds.
The aim is to benefit both from the advantages of AWE technology, using non-noble metals, and PEMWE, using a polymer membrane to achieve high hydrogen production speeds.
Called ‘anion-exchange membrane water electrolyser (AEMWE), this requires the development of nano-catalysers, comprising metals that abound in the earth’s crust including nickel, and more optimised anion exchange polymer membrane, said Michelin.
