Take some sea water, add a dash of waste water and voila you have hydrogen

When it comes to green power for our cars one of the most desirable forms of energy has to be hydrogen, the problem is though that it takes more fossil fuel to make hydrogen than the amount of hydrogen it creates.

That may change though due to the research by Bruce Logan, professor of environmental engineering at Penn State University, and a bacteria that can serve as a part of the fuel cell that, when used in the right combination, can breakdown the organic material in waste water. Once broken down that waste releases electrons that can be collected as electricity, or as hydrogen.

This early technology has been bubbling slowly in Logan’s lab for a while now, as his team has determined just the right combination of bacteria that create the desired effect. Back in 2009, Logan and and his team figured out that running a measured jolt of electricity through a battery containing these bacteria enervated the bugs, causing them to get going on breaking down the organics to release hydrogen.

Now his team has found a way to make hydrogen without consuming that electric energy. In a new study published on September 19 in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, Logan and lab member Younggy Kim showed how the hydrogen production could be powered by salt water.

Desalination–extracting salt from water–soaks up energy. So, it makes sense that the reverse process would release it, Logan explains. Reverse desalination releases the energy necessary to get the bacteria going. With the right amount of salt water nearby, “You can hitch a wastewater treatment to a hydrogen production plant without any external energy,” Logan told Fast Company.

It is still early days when it comes to this technology and whether it can be scaled up to a level needed for vehicle use is still questionable but Logan sees his work as another way to chip away at the questions around renewable energy.