Hydrogen From Bioethanol at 270°C With Zero Direct CO2 Emissions

Scientists have demonstrated a way to produce hydrogen from bioethanol at 270°C without releasing CO2 at the source. The carbon stays in a valuable chemical—acetic acid—instead of the atmosphere, and the setup has run for more than 100 hours continuously in the lab.

The work, from teams at Peking University and Cardiff University, uses a catalyst made of atomically dispersed platinum and iridium on reactive alpha-molybdenum carbide. It partially reforms ethanol into hydrogen and acetic acid in one step. Results appear in Science (2025) and in a Nature journal; a Cardiff preprint is also available. The process is termed thermal catalytic reforming.

How It Works

The catalyst drives selective conversion: hydrogen comes off for use as fuel, while most of the carbon is captured as acetic acid (selectivity about 84.5%). Acetic acid is a high-value product—global consumption is on the order of 15 million tons per year—so the route can offset part of the cost of hydrogen production. The hydrogen production rate in the reported tests was about 331 millimoles per gram of catalyst per hour.

Operating at 270°C cuts energy use compared with conventional steam reforming, which often runs at 400–600°C. Because no CO2 is produced at the reactor, the pathway can be designed for very low or negative carbon intensity when paired with cellulosic ethanol and carbon capture and storage. Life-cycle analyses in the U.S. context suggest the approach can clear the 0.45 kg CO2 equivalent per kg hydrogen threshold for incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act's Section 45V.

Industrial Prospects

Techno-economic analyses cited by the authors indicate the process could be profitable at industrial scale. Scaling and durability in real feedstocks are the next hurdles.

What's Next

Researchers and industry will focus on larger pilot units, integration with biorefineries, and certification under green hydrogen standards. If the economics and durability hold up, ethanol-to-hydrogen could add a carbon-sparing route to the clean hydrogen portfolio.