Advanced Search
April 6, 2026
The author is an undergraduate researcher at the Georgia Tech Advanced Manufacturing Pilot Facility, where research on the ultrasonic atomization of aluminum for hydrogen production is currently underway.
Hydrogen has been hailed as a major clean fuel of the future—it is versatile, energy-dense, and burns without releasing greenhouse gases. Unfortunately, 95% of hydrogen produced in the United States is generated through the use of fossil fuel gases, which ultimately makes it a carbon-emitting energy source. Steam-methane reforming, the most common process for producing hydrogen gas, releases seven kilograms of carbon dioxide per kilogram of hydrogen gas. This accounts for 3% of global industrial-sector carbon dioxide emissions. Thus, conventional mass production of hydrogen to replace fossil fuels would defeat the purpose of hydrogen as a clean energy source.
Key Uses of Hydrogen
For heavy-duty transportation needs, hydrogen could be a key alternative to fossil fuels, due to the weight and mileage limitations of batteries. For heat-intensive industrial processes such as steel, cement, and chemical production, hydrogen energy offers a key path to decarbonization.
Aluminum could be the answer to the clean hydrogen conundrum. Aluminum is very energy dense—it is twice as dense as diesel fuel (by volume) and about eight times as dense as hydrogen gas—but accessing that energy is no easy feat. One way to do it without any greenhouse gas emissions is to react pure powdered or pelletized aluminum with water to produce hydrogen gas and aluminum hydroxide (a harmless antacid that can be recycled into more aluminum or used in flame retardants, cosmetics, and other products). Aluminum used in everyday life, such as in soft drink cans, forms a protective film that prevents this reaction from occurring.
Researchers across the country are working on new ways to turn aluminum into a portable, clean, and efficient hydrogen gas source. Unfortunately, pure aluminum is incredibly energy- and carbon-intensive to mine and refine. Recycling scrap aluminum from industrial waste, however, only takes 5% of the energy needed to mine and process the same amount of pure aluminum. Using scrap aluminum to create hydrogen avoids greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption on two fronts: hydrogen production and aluminum production.
While aluminum does not contain any hydrogen (the hydrogen is actually released by the water reacting with the aluminum), it serves as a form of hydrogen “storage” that is 10 times more dense than compressed hydrogen gas. Hydrogen is typically stored as a compressed gas, which is difficult to control and flammable, or as a cooled liquid, which is energy-inefficient and expensive to produce. Both require heavy tanks for transport and are energy-intensive to produce. Widespread adoption of hydrogen in either form would require additional pipelines, storage facilities, and dispensers. Any leaks or accidents could result in severe consequences due to the flammability of hydrogen gas. Solid aluminum is much easier and safer to store and transport, resulting in more potential energy with less effort and risk. Aluminum can be moved where needed and reacted with water on-site, enabling more dynamic, portable energy production at a fraction of the transport vessel size and pressure.
The reaction that produces hydrogen when pure aluminum and water come into contact is incredibly versatile: the aluminum can be sourced from industrial aluminum scrap, foil, or cans, and the water from wastewater or floodwater. The catch is that aluminum resists reacting with water under normal conditions.
Whenever aluminum comes into contact with oxygen, such as the oxygen in the air around us, it reacts immediately to form a thin layer of aluminum oxide on its surface. This oxidation layer acts as a barrier, wrapping around every bit of exposed aluminum metal and preventing raw metal from coming into direct contact with water, which is why aluminum cans and buildings do not spontaneously react when exposed to liquids. To facilitate the aluminum-water reaction and produce hydrogen gas, the oxide layer must be stripped and prevented from reforming before the pure aluminum and water can react with one another.
Preventing the oxidation of aluminum is the focus of most recent research on aluminum-to-hydrogen energy methods. Currently, scientists either pulverize the aluminum into particles so small that an oxide layer cannot adhere, producing highly flammable volatile granules that can generate hydrogen when they encounter moisture; or they grind up scrap aluminum with liquid metals that block oxide formation, which is costly and energy-intensive.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have found a way to apply a liquid mixture of gallium and indium onto aluminum that physically blocks the creation of an oxide layer, allowing the aluminum to react once it comes into contact with water. Scientists at University of California Santa Cruz have taken a similar approach by dissolving aluminum nanoparticles into liquid gallium. In both of these cases, the gallium and indium are fully recoverable and can be reused. Researchers at Georgia Tech are taking a different approach and trying to powder aluminum in a more cost-effective way, using small vaporization machines that could be powered by solar energy (currently, grinding solid aluminum requires large, expensive, energy-intensive machines). With all these techniques, the process for preparing the aluminum is expected to be less expensive and energy-intensive than standard milling processes.
Found Energy, a startup created by an MIT doctoral student, has been working to create larger scale aluminum-water reactors to supply heat and hydrogen for industrial use. They have announced plans to install their first real-world pilot at a manufacturing facility this year, powered by scrap produced by the factory itself.
General Atomics already markets aluminum-to-hydrogen generation systems for military applications that prioritize performance over cost, such as expeditionary forces, submersibles, and weather balloons.
Hydrogen can aid the transition away from fossil fuels in the transportation sector and in areas where electrification or renewable energy use is impractical. Hydrogen can be burned directly to produce intense clean heat for industrial processes or used in fuel cells, which generate electricity as long as they are fed with hydrogen. Fuel cells can be used to power a wide range of vehicles and facilities, including cars, cellphone towers, and data centers. Fuel cells paired with aluminum-to-hydrogen generation systems would be especially well suited to provide backup power for key facilities like hospitals and grocery stores or to provide power to remote facilities (including military bases) that would be difficult to supply with liquid or compressed hydrogen.
On a larger scale, portable hydrogen energy can be used to power microgrids, which are independently-operating self-sufficient electricity grids that serve localized areas. Microgrids can be entirely independent, or connected to the main grid and capable of quick disconnection in case of grid outages. With the number of extreme weather events increasing fivefold in the last 50 years due to climate change, electrical grids are under an ever-growing state of stress. The portability of aluminum powder and scalability of fuel cells could revolutionize emergency power generation during natural disasters, which disproportionately affect lower-income and minority communities. Usually, emergency generators are gas- or diesel-powered and release toxic gases that impact human health and the climate. Growing interest in solar-based generators is a good first step, as it reduces environmental impacts. However, there still remains a need for baseload auxiliary power, which hydrogen fuel cells paired with aluminum-to-hydrogen generation could provide cleanly and reliably.
Hydrogen can help reduce emissions from the transportation sector by replacing the gas and diesel used to power heavy-duty vehicles (the transportation sector currently accounts for 28% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions). Batteries are generally a more efficient way to electrify smaller vehicles than hydrogen fuel cells, but aluminum-based hydrogen may one day be able to power marine vessels and underwater vehicles, where seawater can be used in the reaction.
The main challenges that need to be overcome before aluminum can be used to generate hydrogen at scale and economically are keeping the aluminum’s surface clean and available to react with water and minimizing the amount of energy required to powder the aluminum. Both challenges could be addressed with more research and development funding directed toward the academic institutions that are driving new innovations in aluminum-to-hydrogen processes. However, Congressional funding for non-defense activities at the Department of Energy, which funds much of the research and development in the energy sector, decreased by 13% from fiscal year 2025 to 2026. The Department of Energy cut $7.56 billion of its own allocated funding for energy projects last year, including for research and development awards. The National Science Foundation, a major funder of research grants and fellowships, also saw a 3.4% funding cut this year. Cuts to research and development funding threaten the emergence of novel technologies—like aluminum-to-hydrogen— that could accelerate the energy transition; such cuts introduce uncertainty that halts research and delays implementation.
Investing in aluminum-to-hydrogen technology aligns with the broader need for investment in clean hydrogen (i.e., hydrogen that is generated with minimal carbon emissions). The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58) had allocated $8 billion to the production of low-emission hydrogen through seven Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs (H2Hubs), with construction originally scheduled to begin by 2027. However, two of the seven H2Hubs have been canceled by the new administration, amounting to a $2.2 billion funding cut for low-emission hydrogen efforts. Section 45V Clean Hydrogen Production tax credits, first enacted by the Inflation Reduction Act (P.L. 117-169), have mostly been maintained but under a tighter schedule (to qualify for the credit, hydrogen facilities must now begin construction by 2028 instead of 2033).
Latest EESI Resources on Hydrogen and the U.S. Energy Mix
Topic Page | Hydrogen and Fuel Cells
Briefing | Understanding Load Growth and Energy Affordability
Briefing | Where Key Clean Energy Tax Credits Stand
Aluminum-to-hydrogen technology could help provide a path to a decarbonized future while transforming industrial waste into a portable, effective, and clean energy carrier. As the United States grapples with the herculean task of decarbonization and deals with the accelerating decay of its aging energy grid, aluminum-to-hydrogen technology provides a useful solution. Continual investments in researching, developing, and implementing promising technologies can pay dividends in ensuring a more sustainable tomorrow.
Author: Aastha Singh
Advancing science-based solutions for a sustainable, resilient, and equitable world
Top-Rated Climate Nonprofit – 4-Star Charity