Year: 2025

A research team from Seoul National University’s College of Engineering has unveiled a new approach to water electrolysis that could dramatically lower the cost and complexity of green hydrogen production. By eliminating the need for precious metal-based catalysts, this breakthrough marks a significant step toward realizing a scalable and economically viable hydrogen economy.

Published in Nature Communications on May 23, the study introduces an innovative electrolysis strategy called Electrochemical Activation (EA) operation, which enables the use of commercial nickel (Ni) electrodes—without any catalyst coating—while maintaining high efficiency and long-term performance. The project was led by Professors Jeyong Yoon and Jaeyune Ryu, in collaboration with Professor Jang Yong Lee of Konkuk University.

Smartphones are becoming obsolete faster than ever. Most users now replace their devices every two to three years—even when the phones still function. Fueled by aggressive marketing and rapid tech advancements, this culture of constant upgrading has led to the production of more than 1.2 billion smartphones globally each year.

This cycle comes at a steep environmental cost. Manufacturing and shipping smartphones consumes vast natural resources and emits significant amounts of CO₂. While some old devices are recycled, many end up in landfills, adding to the world’s growing e-waste crisis.

MIT researchers have developed a groundbreaking sodium–air fuel cell that could reshape the future of electric transportation. Designed to replace the heavy lithium-ion batteries currently used in aviation, marine, and rail sectors, this innovative system delivers more than three times the energy density of today’s electric vehicle (EV) batteries — potentially making electric flight a reality.

The new fuel cell, developed by a team led by MIT doctoral students Karen Sugano, Sunil Mair, Saahir Ganti-Agrawal, and Professor Yet-Ming Chiang, uses liquid sodium metal and ambient air as its core materials. Unlike traditional batteries, which are limited by their weight-to-energy ratio, this system offers a fuel cell format that can be quickly refueled and deliver sustained power output.