Bengal prof in Germany leads study to make hydrogen from seawater, sunlight
Times of India | 30 December 2025
Kolkata: A Bengali scientist, professor Shoubhik Das, is now leading cutting-edge research at the University of Bayreuth for generating green hydrogen directly from seawater using sunlight. This research is redefining how the world may produce fuel in a water-stressed future. An alumnus of Presidency College, Das hails from Payradanga village in Nadia district of Bengal.
Hydrogen is widely considered a fuel of the future because it produces only water when used. However, most current "green hydrogen" technologies rely heavily on freshwater — an increasingly scarce resource across much of the world. Das and his team are challenging that model by tapping into two of Earth's most abundant resources: sunlight and seawater.
Their research, recently published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society under the title "Seawater to Sustainable Fuel: Sunlight-Driven Green Hydrogen Generation with an Atomically Dispersed Photocatalyst," demonstrates a major scientific advance in solar-driven hydrogen production.
At the heart of the breakthrough is a newly developed nickel-based photocatalyst, engineered so that nickel atoms are dispersed individually at the atomic level. When exposed to sunlight, this material can split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen without the need for added chemicals or sacrificial reagents — an issue that long limited the sustainability of photocatalytic hydrogen systems, Das explained.
"Our goal was to move closer to truly green hydrogen," he said.
"Most existing photocatalytic approaches require additional chemical inputs, which undermine their environmental value. We wanted a system that works efficiently, stably, and directly with real-world water sources."
The results are striking. Under laboratory conditions, the catalyst achieved hydrogen evolution rates of up to 270 micromoles per gram per hour, while remaining highly active even under direct natural sunlight. Most notably, it generated hydrogen directly from seawater, reaching production rates of 144 micromoles per gram per hour, he added.
Equally important is durability. The photocatalyst remained stable for more than 720 hours of operation, maintaining high performance over multiple cycles. Advanced analytical techniques confirmed both the stability and the atomically dispersed structure of the nickel species, explaining the material's efficiency and robustness.
Freshwater scarcity is emerging as one of the defining challenges of the 21st century. Using freshwater at scale for fuel production raises ethical and environmental concerns. Seawater, by contrast, covers over 70% of the planet and is abundantly available in coastal and island regions — many of which also receive high solar radiation.
"If seawater can be used directly and safely for hydrogen production, it changes the entire equation," Das said.
"It opens the door to decentralised hydrogen generation along coastlines, without competing with drinking or agricultural water needs," he added.
The implications of the work extend far beyond the laboratory. Scientists envision future coastal hydrogen facilities — possibly even floating systems — where sunlight and seawater combine to produce clean fuel