Evidence item

Here we report the co-production of hydrogen and fresh water from seawater by coupling alkaline water electrolysis with low-temperature desalination, wherein low-grade waste heat from the electrolyser drives seawater distillation to generate fresh water for both electrolysis and external use. A 20-kW industrial pilot system achieved co-productivities of 3.8 Nm3 h−1 H2 and 1.2 kg h−1 fresh water with stable operation for 100 days. Scaling up to 250 kW achieved 48 Nm3 h−1 H2 and 31.6 kg h−1 fresh water, with a 14.4% improvement in system electrical efficiency relative to alkaline electrolysis of fresh water alone.