Development, Application and Prospects of Hydrogen Production from Renewable Energy

Dear Colleagues,

The escalating climate crisis and the global push for decarbonization have intensified interest in hydrogen as a versatile energy carrier. Solar green hydrogen, produced via water splitting and seawater splitting powered by renewable energy sources such as solar energy, has emerged as a key pillar in the transition toward sustainable energy systems. Its potential spans across sectors including power generation, transportation, heavy industry, and energy storage. However, the large-scale deployment of hydrogen technologies is still constrained by technical, economic, and infrastructural challenges, especially in integrating fluctuating renewable sources, scaling up electrolysis systems, and ensuring water availability and long-term material durability under corrosive and high-salinity environments. Corrosion phenomena associated with seawater electrolysis, saline solutions, and extreme operating conditions represent a critical bottleneck for the viability of hydrogen systems. These issues impact the longevity of electrodes, membranes, and balance-of-plant components, thereby influencing system efficiency, safety, and maintenance costs. Understanding and mitigating corrosion is thus essential to ensure the long-term reliability of hydrogen production from renewable sources.

This Special Issue on “Development, Application and Prospects of Hydrogen Production from Renewable Energy” seeks high-quality original research and review articles focusing on the integration of hydrogen production systems with renewable energy sources, with particular attention to material durability, corrosion, and advanced electrochemical processes. Topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Alkaline electrolysis of water using solar, wind, or hydroelectric power
• Seawater splitting and brine valorization
• Corrosion and degradation mechanisms in electrolyser components
• Protective coatings, corrosion-resistant alloys, and in-situ monitoring strategies
• Advanced electrode materials and catalytic systems for the hydrogen evolution reaction
• Integration of hydrogen production with photovoltaic systems
• Process modelling, optimisation, and life-cycle analysis (LCA) of green hydrogen systems
• Use of industrial waste or byproducts for sustainable hydrogen generation
• Hydrogen application in mineral processing
• Water management and purification technologies for electrolysis
• Decentralized and off-grid hydrogen production systems
• Policy, techno-economic analysis, and energy transition scenarios involving green hydrogen
• Digital tools and AI-assisted process control in hydrogen production systems
• Hydrogen microgrid as alternative for grid-isolated areas

Dr. Felipe Galleguillos
Dr. Norman Toro
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Processes is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.