Abstract: An economical method to produce hydrogen by direct electrolysis of methanol is developed. It is demonstrated that the hydrogen produced by the electrolysis of methanol can considerably reduce the consumption of electricity. The novelty of this technique is the inherent simplicity and the substantially lowered cost. Using these modified proton exchange membrane fuel cell membrane electrode assembly (PEMFC-MEA) as an electrolyzer, any scale requirements can be easily achieved. The combination of this electrolyzer concept with the concept of solar cells would economically produce hydrogen for storage and subsequent use in, or for in situ use in, fuel cells and chemical engineering applications.

Key words: Hydrogen production, Methanol electrolysis, Electrolyzer, Fuel cell, Hydrogen economy