A lab at MIT has been getting a lot of press about a “breakthrough” in hydrogen production. I read some of the stories but couldn’t figure out what the actual breakthrough was. This is typical when the popular press covers science, so I decided to check out what the science-oriented press had to say.
Scientific American’s story has more in the way of detail, but I still didn’t get it. Sure a cobalt/phosphorus anode would be cheaper than a platinum one, but power costs should dwarf anode costs in commercial production, right?
Better is this analysis from The Oil Drum. It gives a nice synopsis and debunks much of what was reported in the popular press. The Oil Drum may (or may not—this is the first I’ve heard of them) be biased against hydrogen but it seems to have its facts straight. A recommended read.
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