Scientists have accidentally discovered that when water encounters certain high-strength industrial aluminum profiles, hydrogen is produced, which is essential for manufacturing fuel cells.

Fuel cells were once considered one of the best alternatives to fossil fuels. With the development of technology, when it is desired to make fuel cell designs lighter and more commercially beneficial, the present invention was found to encounter bottlenecks and it is not easy to safely store hydrogen in fuel cells.

According to a study conducted by the US Army Research Laboratory, researchers have found that he can produce hydrogen for fuel cells while developing high-strength industrial aluminum profiles.

After discovering that the alloy produced hydrogen when it came in contact with water, the team conducted many routine experiments.

For common industrial aluminum profiles, they will oxidize and rust when exposed to water. These rust spots will tightly contain aluminum to prevent further chemical reactions, but this high-strength industrial aluminum profile will not react with the aforementioned aluminum. It will continue to produce hydrogen.

Previous methods of generating hydrogen were inefficient and costly. If this discovery can be further implemented, the hydrogen produced by the new industrial aluminum profiles could be used to improve batteries for automotive and other applications. Moreover, it is relatively easy to make such an alloy using scrap aluminum.