BCNF-Based Hydrogen
Project Overview
University
Year
About
Most hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels, and existing thermochemical alternatives often require extreme temperatures that complicate reactor design and increase costs. This project uses an engineered ceramic material that repeatedly releases and regains oxygen during heating and exposure to steam, producing hydrogen as part of the cycle. Laboratory tests generated hydrogen at temperatures substantially below those required by conventional materials and demonstrated repeated performance over ten cycles. A proposed two-reactor system would recover heat, recycle water and produce oxygen alongside hydrogen, potentially enabling scalable, lower-carbon production in renewable-energy-rich regions.
Team
Tongtong Zhang
Tongtong Zhang is currently an Assistant Professor at the School of Chemical Engineering and the Birmingham Centre for Energy Storage, University of Birmingham. She obtained her PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Birmingham in 2021. Her research focuses on thermal and thermo-mechanical energy storage and conversion, and whole-system integration to support decarbonisation across the power, heat, and industrial sectors. Her work spans device modelling, process optimisation, system integration, and experimental demonstration. One of her key innovations, Mobile Thermal Energy Storage using composite phase-change materials, has been successfully demonstrated at a 100 kWh pre-pilot scale and has been shortlisted for the IChemE Global Awards 2024 (Renewable Energy category).
Yulong Ding
Founding Chamberlain Professor of Chemical Engineering; 500+ journal publications (H-index ~100); 100 patents filed; invented liquid air energy storage technology currently under commercial deployment; developed composite materials based thermal energy storage technology with 5GW / 30GWh installations; developed passively cooled container technology currently on large scale commercial demonstration for cold chain transportation; recent inventions of in-process thermochemical CO2 and water splitting started commercial development. Recognition by J&E Hall Gold Medal (2023), Humboldt Research Award (2023), ESIE Award & Medal (2022), IChemE Clean Energy Medal (2021), and election to Fellow of Royal Academy of Engineering (2020).
Lige Tong
Lige Tong is a Professor and Ph.D. supervisor at the School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing. She obtained her Ph.D. from USTB and was a visiting scholar at the University of Birmingham in 2014. Her research interests cover energy conversion and utilization, thermal energy storage, high-temperature flue gas purification and waste heat recovery, energy management, refrigeration & cryogenics, and safety assessment of industrial equipment.
Jiaxiang Sun
I am a PhD student in Thermal Engineering at University of Science and Technology Beijing. My research focuses on thermal energy storage, thermochemical hydrogen production and high-temperature material development. I am dedicated to exploring clean energy technologies to support low-carbon transition. I enjoy combining material characterization and numerical simulation to solve practical energy challenges, and I hope to share my work and exchange ideas with global innovators
Biduan Chen
Bidaun Chen received his degree from the School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing. His main research interests lie in thermochemical redox splitting cycles and electrically heated thermal energy storage