The Company has entered into an agreement with UCLA to research and develop low cost, earth abundant material-based catalysts for hydrogen production via electrolysis
SANTA CLARITA, Calif., Dec. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BioSolar, Inc. (OTC:BSRC) (“BioSolar” or the “Company”), a developer of energy storage technology and materials, today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, NewHydrogen, Inc., has entered into a sponsored research agreement with the University of California Los Angeles (“UCLA”) to develop a technology to reduce the cost of green hydrogen production.
This 12-month research program with UCLA will commence January 1, 2021, under the direction of Dr. Yu Huang, Vice Chair for Graduate Studies, Department of Materials Science and Engineering. The program will focus on the discovery of efficient and stable earth-abundant material-based catalysts for hydrogen production through electrolysis. Dr. Huang, the recipient of numerous awards and global recognition, is leading a team that is creating methodologies to apply the latest developments in nanoscale materials and nanotechnology to impact a wide range of technologies including materials synthesis, catalysis, fuel cells, biomedical and devices applications.
Electrolysis, the process of using electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen molecules, is a promising option for “green hydrogen” produced by renewable solar generated electricity. Currently, the two leading technologies in the water electrolyzer market are alkaline and acidic proton exchange membrane-based (PEM), both of which have similar market share. PEM electrolyzers, are the more modern variants and show higher efficiency, lower energy consumption, and produces hydrogen of higher purity than alkaline water electrolyzers. Most importantly, PEM electrolyzers offer high dynamic ranges which are well suited for the intermittent nature of renewable energy such as solar and wind. However, one of the main challenges for widespread adoption of PEM electrolyzers is their reliance on expensive precious metals like platinum and iridium – literally stardust found only in asteroids.
"We are thrilled to work with Dr. Huang and her team at UCLA and share the mutual goal of developing catalysts made with earth abundant materials that could efficiently electrolyze water into hydrogen and oxygen at a lower cost,\” said Dr. David Lee, CEO of BioSolar. “While we embark on this new program in the high growth category of hydrogen production, we remain committed to our existing battery technology development program with the focus of commercializing a silicon anode capable of improving the efficiency and lowering the cost of electric vehicle design and production.”
BioSolar is developing breakthrough technologies to increase the storage capacity, lower the cost and extend the life of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. The need for such breakthroughs is critical to meet the expected demand of the rapidly growing global electric vehicle battery market, which is forecast to exceed $90 billion by 2025. A lithium-ion battery contains two major parts, a lithium-filled cathode and a lithium-receiving anode, that function together as the positive and negative sides of the battery. BioSolar is developing innovative technologies that will enable the use of inexpensive silicon as the anode material to create next generation high energy and high-power lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. Founded with the vision of developing breakthrough energy technologies, BioSolar's previous successes include the world's first bio-based backsheet for use in solar panels.
To learn more about BioSolar, please visit our website at https://www.biosolar.com.
NewHydrogen is developing ThermoLoop™ – a breakthrough technology that uses water and heat rather than electricity to produce the world’s lowest cost green hydrogen. Hydrogen is the cleanest and most abundant element in the universe, and we can’t live without it. Hydrogen is the key ingredient in making fertilizers needed to grow food for the world. It is also used for transportation, refining oil and making steel, glass, pharmaceuticals and more. Nearly all the hydrogen today is made from hydrocarbons like coal, oil, and natural gas, which are dirty and limited resources. Water, on the other hand, is an infinite and renewable worldwide resource.
Currently, the most common method of making green hydrogen is to split water into oxygen and hydrogen with an electrolyzer using green electricity produced from solar or wind. However, green electricity is and always will be very expensive. It currently accounts for 73% of the cost of green hydrogen. By using heat directly, we can skip the expensive process of making electricity, and fundamentally lower the cost of green hydrogen. Inexpensive heat can be obtained from concentrated solar, geothermal, nuclear reactors and industrial waste heat for use in our novel low-cost thermochemical water splitting process. Working with a world class research team at UC Santa Barbara, our goal is to help usher in the green hydrogen economy that Goldman Sachs estimated to have a future market value of $12 trillion.
Matters discussed in this press release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "may," "intend," "expect" and similar expressions identify such forward-looking statements. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those contemplated, expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained herein. These forward-looking statements are based largely on the expectations of the Company and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. These include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties associated with: the impact of economic, competitive and other factors affecting the Company and its operations, markets, the impact on the national and local economies resulting from terrorist actions, the impact of public health epidemics on the global economy and other factors detailed in reports filed by the Company with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
Any forward-looking statement made by us in this press release is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.