Technion Researchers Develop Green Hydrogen Method Producing High-Value Epoxides Instead of Oxygen

Researchers at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology have devised an electrochemical process that generates green hydrogen while simultaneously synthesizing epoxides—a high-value class of industrial chemicals—rather than releasing oxygen. As reported by TechXplore (https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-green-hydrogen-production-method-yields.html), the study detailing the technique was published in Nature Communications by a research team led by Avner Rothschild of the Technion Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering and postdoctoral researcher Dr. Guilin Ruan.

Green hydrogen, produced by splitting water using electricity from renewable sources, is viewed as an essential component in decarbonizing hard-to-electrify heavy industries such as steel and fertilizer manufacturing, petroleum refining, and alternative fuel synthesis. It may also provide long-term storage for wind and solar power. However, commercial adoption remains constrained because green hydrogen costs significantly more than hydrogen derived from natural gas or coal—fossil fuel methods that account for approximately 2% of global carbon dioxide emissions.

To address this economic gap, the research team reengineered the conventional water-splitting architecture. Standard water electrolysis generates hydrogen at the cathode and releases oxygen at the anode. The Technion method replaces the oxygen-producing reaction with paired electrosynthesis that yields epoxides. Epoxides serve as critical chemical precursors used in the production of polymers, adhesives, coatings, and pharmaceuticals.

In experimental testing, the system demonstrated 98% efficiency for both hydrogen generation and parallel epoxide production, with only 2% of electrical charge lost to competing side reactions. The authors also reported that the achieved current density is compatible with large-scale industrial electrolysis requirements.

According to Ruan, who conceived and developed the procedure, the advance relies on a comprehensive system-level design. Rather than modifying a single electrode, the architecture optimizes the electrodes, redox mediator, solvent environment, and operating configuration together to enable paired electrosynthesis without requiring a physical separation membrane between the electrodes.

The process builds upon earlier decoupled electrochemical research conducted at the Technion that separates hydrogen and oxygen production steps. An earlier derivative of that core membrane-free technology is commercialized by startup H2Pro. The latest project was supported by the European Research Council (ERC), and a U.S. patent application has been filed for the technology.