Disruptive technologies are urgently required to stave off catastrophic climate change. The FET-Proactive call subtopic c: "Breakthrough zero-emissions energy generation for full decarbonization" states that "Research areas could include, for example, long duration high heat sources from hydrogen-metal systems (e.g. using nickel), energy generation in plasma and cavitation systems."
All of the research areas identified by the call are highly unconventional. As electrochemists, we contributed to this call by working on hydrogen-metal systems. We studied hydrogen (and deuterium) evolution in unconventional conditions, i.e. on metal-hydrides and the main motivation for this work was based on the recent Nature perspective “Revisiting the cold case of cold fusion”. When loading deuterium into the Pd lattice, there is a chance that something very interesting will happen, resulting in production of excess heat. The first report of such reaction was published 30 years ago, but quickly dismissed by the scientific community. But what if there is really something? Can we afford to not to investigate this further, considering the current climate crisis? This is a high risk/high reward project, but with aid of all the improved techniques and tools developed in the last 30 years, we believe that it is worth the risk.
The objectives were: (1) Develop highly reproducible methods to study heat generation and other anomalous effects in hydrogen-metal systems. Specifically, HERMES focused on method development, with the special emphasis on reproducibility.
(2) Develop highly reproducible methods to manufacture nanostructured hydrogen-metal systems. Specifically, HERMES developed methods to prepare well-controlled catalyst structures for experiments.
(3) Demonstrate utilization of state-of-the-art tools to study hydrogen-metal systems Specifically, HERMES developed and demonstrated the use of advanced large scale research facilities such as synchrotrons, neutron sources, as well as mass-spectrometry and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) to study isotope effects on well-structured catalysts. Advanced computational tools such as density functional theory modelling were also utilized to understand the systems better.
(4) Explore the possibility for breakthrough zero-emissions heat generation with hydrogen-metal systems. Specifically, HERMES aimed to understand, verify and demonstrate heat generation as well as other anomalous effects from deuterium-palladium systems.
(5) Establish an interdisciplinary community to foster the emergence of a broader innovation ecosystem and create a fertile ground for future take-up of the new technological paradigm based on heat production by metal-hydrogen systems. Specifically, if anomalous effects of Pd-D system can be demonstrated reproducibly, HERMES action will assemble a multidisciplinary scientific advisory board to evaluate the results, try to identify any possible sources of error overlooked in the project, and to gain scientific acceptance for the HERMES results.
(6) Understand isotope effects in hydrogen evolution and oxidation reactions. We acknowledge that there is very high probability of failing to reproducibly produce anomalous effects in the Pd-D system. Therefore, all the techniques and methodologies developed in this action were also utilized to study isotope effects for electrocatalysis of hydrogen evolution and oxidation reactions, as well as other effects such as cations in the electric double layer, effect of absorbed hydrogen for reaction mechanism etc.
