JERUSALEM – Israeli and Chinese scientists have developed a method to generate green hydrogen while simultaneously producing valuable chemicals for industry, the Israel Institute of Technology said on Tuesday.

In their study, published in Nature Communications, the researchers described a new approach that could help make green hydrogen production more affordable.

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Green hydrogen is made by using electricity, ideally from renewable sources such as solar and wind, to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.

The researchers developed a process that replaces the oxygen normally produced alongside hydrogen with an epoxide, a chemical compound used to make plastics, coatings, adhesives, medicines, and other industrial products.

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According to the team, the new process achieved 98 percent efficiency in both hydrogen production and the parallel chemical reaction, and the system reached a current density suitable for large-scale industrial electrolysis.