Titanium electrodes for water electrolysis made by Mitsubishi Materials efficiently produce hydrogen, which is essential to decarbonization. In this issue, we will introduce this proprietary technology developed through the difficult process of sintering titanium̶essentially, a technique to stick titanium together.

Titanium is the common material for water electrolysis electrodes. It’s an amazing material that is light and strong, but it is extremely difficult to cut and bend, mak- ing it tough to form complex, three-di- mensional objects. Then, even if you try to make a 3D object with the powder, the titanium powder is difficult to stick together. But Mitsubishi Materials has a strength in sintering technology and is skilled at making the powder stick. By leveraging this special skill, we were able to form complex structures from titanium powder using a 3D printer. Through this, we invented water electrolysis electrodes that efficiently produce hydrogen—a “hydrogen generator.”

The “hydrogen generator” that was created from pure titanium powder through this world-first technology can electrolyze water, or break water down into hydrogen and oxygen by using electricity, and efficiently produce hydrogen. As for why there is a necessity to produce hydrogen, that is because hydrogen is expected to replace petroleum as a valuable energy source in the future. If hydrogen produced without emitting carbon dioxide is used as an energy source for a variety of things, it can help prevent global warming.