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Population growth and the expansion of industries have increased energy demand and the use of fossil fuels as an energy source, resulting in release of greenhouse gases (GHG) and increased air pollution. Countries are therefore looking for alternatives to fossil fuels for energy generation. Using hydrogen as an energy carrier is one of the most promising alternatives to replace fossil fuels in electricity generation. It is therefore essential to know how hydrogen is produced. Hydrogen can be produced by splitting the water molecules in an electrolyser, using the abondand water resources, which are covering around ⅔ of the Earth's surface. Electrolysers, however, require high-quality water, with conductivity in the range of 0.1–1 μS/cm. In January 2018, there were 184 offshore oil and gas rigs in the North Sea which may be excellent sites for hydrogen production from seawater. The hydrogen production process reported in this paper is based on a proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser with an input flow rate of 300 L/h. A financially optimal system for producing demineralized water from seawater, with conductivity in the range of 0.1–1 μS/cm as the input for electrolyser, by WAVE (Water Application Value Engine) design software was studied. The costs of producing hydrogen using the optimised system was calculated to be US dollars 3.51/kg H2. The best option for low-cost power generation, using renewable resources such as photovoltaic (PV) devices, wind turbines, as well as electricity from the grid was assessed, considering the location of the case considered. All calculations were based on assumption of existing cable from the grid to the offshore, meaning that the cost of cables and distribution infrastructure were not considered. Models were created using HOMER Pro (Hybrid Optimisation of Multiple Energy Resources) software to optimise the microgrids and the distributed energy resources, under the assumption of a nominal discount rate, inflation rate, project lifetime, and CO2 tax in Norway. Eight different scenarios were examined using HOMER Pro, and the main findings being as follows: The cost of producing water with quality required by the electrolyser is low, compared with the cost of electricity for operation of the electrolyser, and therefore has little effect on the total cost of hydrogen production (less than 1%). The optimal solution was shown to be electricity from the grid, which has the lowest levelised cost of energy (LCOE) of the options considered. The hydrogen production cost using electricity from the grid was about US dollars 5/kg H2. Grid based electricity resulted in the lowest hydrogen production cost, even when costs for CO2 emissions in Norway, that will start to apply in 2025 was considered, being approximately US dollars 7.7/kg H2. From economical point of view, wind energy was found to be a more economical than solar.

Sonochemistry is considered as one of the cleaner pathways for hydrogen production. The present paper investigates the potential of this technique based upon mass, mass to energy and energy conversion metrics, using modelling and experimental approaches. Four scenarios are examined assuming four saturating gases, namely O2, air, N2 and Ar, four acoustic frequencies, i.e., 20, 210, 326 and 488 kHz, and considering common acoustic intensities then common net electric power. The study revealed that Ar is the best fitting saturating gas for the sonochemical production of hydrogen. With a common acoustic intensity of 0.48 W/cm2, an optimum ratio of H2 molar yield to acoustic energy intensity is retrieved at 210 kHz, while with a common net electric power of 87 W, the highest ratio of hydrogen yield to electric energy was observed at 20 kHz. Results were interpreted based upon emitter surface, energy conversion and distinction of calorimetric and cavitational energies.

To have a uniform distribution of reactants is an advantage to a fuel cell. We report results for such a distributor with tree-like flow field plates (FFP). Numerical simulations have shown that the width scaling parameters of tree-like patterns in FFPs used in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) reduces the viscous dissipation in the channels. In this study, experimental investigations were conducted on a 2-layer FF plate possessing a tree-like FF pattern which was CNC milled on high-quality graphite. Three FF designs of different width scaling parameters were employed. I–V curves, power curves and impedance spectra were generated at 70%, 60% and 50% relative humidity (25 cm2 active area), and compared to those obtained from a conventional 1-channel serpentine FF. It was found that the FF design, with a width scaling factor of 0.917 in the inlet and 0.925 in the outlet pattern, exhibited the best peak power out of the three designs (only 11% - 0.08 W/cm2 lower than reference serpentine FF). Results showed that a reduction of the viscous dissipation in the flow pattern was not directly linked to a PEMFC performance increase. It was found that water accumulation, together with a slight increase in single PEMFC resistance, were the main reasons for the reduced power density. As further improvements, a reduction of the number of branching generation levels and width scaling factor were recommended.

The main issues facing the development of Anion Exchange Membranes (AEM) are the low hydroxide ion (OH−) conductivity compared to protons (H+), and the thermal and chemical stability. Based on the its unique two-dimensional structure, graphene is estimated to be one of the best solutions for the hydrogen ions (H+ and OH−) selectivity and conductivity improvement. This work presents the graphene-composite membranes (AEMGrs) preparation and characterization in comparison with commercial FAA3-20® and FAA3-30® membranes from Fumatech. Various amounts of commercial graphene were incorporated into the Fumion® FAA-3 in NMP (10%), solutions which were then used to fabricate new AEMs by the Doctor-Blade (DB) method. Commercial and graphene-composite AEMs were studied by infrared spectroscopy with Fourier Transformation (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), water uptake (WU), ion exchange capacity (IEC), and in plane four-points electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (4p-EIS). The results indicated that the composite membranes containing 50 mg of graphene exhibited an improved IEC (3.16 mmol g−1) and OH− conductivity (113.27 mS cm−1) at 80 °C measured in 0.01 M KOH (pH = 12).

Dehydrogenation of hydrogen-rich chemicals, such as ammonia borane (AB), is a promising way to produce hydrogen for mobile fuel cell power systems. However, the practical application has been impeded due to the high cost and scarcity of the catalysts. Herein, a low-cost and high-performing core-shell structured CuO–NiO/Co3O4 hybrid nanoplate catalytic material has been developed for the hydrolysis of AB. The obtained hybrid catalyst exhibits a high catalytic activity towards the hydrolysis of AB with a turnover frequency (TOF) of 79.1 molH2 mol cat−1 min−1. The apparent activation energy of AB hydrolysis on CuO–NiO/Co3O4 is calculated to be 23.7 kJ.mol−1. The synergistic effect between CuO–NiO and Co3O4 plays an important role in the improvement of the catalytic performance. The development of this high-performing and low-cost CuO–NiO/Co3O4 hybrid catalytic material can make practical applications of AB hydrolysis at large-scale possible.

Water electrolyzers that use a membrane electrolyte between the electrodes are a promising technology towards mass production of renewable hydrogen. High power setups produce a lot of heat which has to be transported through the cell, making heat management essential. Knowing thermal conductivity values of the employed materials is crucial when modeling the temperature distribution inside an electrolyzer. The thermal conductivity was measured for different titanium-based porous transport layers (PTL) and a partially methylated Hexamethyl-p-Terphenyl Polybenzimidazolium (HMT-PMBI-Cl- membrane. The four titanium-based sintered transport layers materials have thermal conductivities between 1.0 and 2.5 0.2 WK−1m−1 at 10 bar compaction pressure. The HMT-PMBI-Cl- membrane has a thermal conductivity of 0.19 0.04 WK−1m−1 at 0% relative humidity at 10 bar compaction pressure and 0.21 0.03 WK−1m−1 at 100% relative humidity ( water molecules per ion exchange site at room temperature) at 10 bar compaction pressure. Combining the determined thermal conductivity values with data from the literature, 2D thermal models of a proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer (PEMWE) and an anion exchange membrane water electrolyzer (AEMWE) were built to evaluate the temperature distribution in the through-plane direction. A temperature difference of 7–17 K was shown to arise between the center of the membrane electrode assembly and bipolar plates for the PEMWE and more than 18 K for the AEMWE. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons CC-BY license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

As the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) has improved its performance and power density, the efficiency has remained unchanged. With around half the reaction enthalpy released as heat, thermal gradients grow. To improve the understanding of such gradients, PEMFC component thermal conductivity has been increasingly investigated over the last ten years, and the catalyst layer (CL) is one of the components where thermal conductivity values are still scarce. CLs in PEMFC are where the electrochemical reactions occur and most of the heat is released. The thermal conductivity in this region affects the heat distribution significantly within a PEMFC. Thermal conductivities for a graphitized and a non-graphitized CL were measured for compaction pressures in the range of 3 and 23 bar. The graphitized CL has a thermal conductivity of 0.12 ± 0.05 WK–1m–1, whilst the non-graphitized CL conductivity is 0.061 ± 0.006 WK–1m–1, both at 10 bar compaction pressure. These results suggest that the graphitization of the catalyst material causes a doubling of the thermal conductivity of the CL. This important finding bridges the very few existing studies. Additionally, a 2D thermal model was constructed to represent the impact of the results on the temperature distribution inside a fuel cell.

One of major current technical challenges in proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) is the limited proton conductivity. Nowadays, graphene is considered one of the most promising candidates for improving the ionic transport properties, isotopic selectivity and proton conductivity throughout the unique two-dimensional structure. In this paper, we report on the development of graphene modified commercial membranes (Fumapem®) containing different graphene loadings for PEMWE applications. The membranes are characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and thermo-gravimetrical and differential thermal analysis (TGA-DSC). Properties of composite membranes are investigated, including water uptake and ion-exchange capacity (IEC). In plane four-electrode arrangement is used to determine the proton conductivity of the composite membranes. It is found that composite membranes show an improved behaviour when compared to pristine commercial membranes and graphene loading can improve proton conductivity. In our conditions, the calculated activation energy (Ea) for proton conduction is found to be about 3.80 kJ mol−1 for the composite Fumapem®/graphene membrane with 10 mg graphene loading, lower than of the pristine polymer proton exchange membrane.

A novel hydrogen storage system for a RX60-30L 3-tonne electric forklift (STILL), equipped with a GenDrive 1600-80A fuel cell power module (Plug Power) has been developed. The system combines a compressed H2 composite cylinder (CGH2) and a liquid-heated-cooled metal hydride (MH) extension tank which is thermally integrated with a power module. The MH extension tank comprises a MH bed formed according to an advanced solution to provide easy activation of the MH material and fast H2 charge/discharge. The system has the same hydrogen storage capacity (∼19 Nm3 H2 or 1.7 kg) as the separate CGH2 tank charged at P = 350 bar, but at a lower H2 charge pressure (≤185 bar). A 15 min cycle refuelling provides the forklift with full-load operation (according to VDI-60 protocol) during >3 h, or 2 to 4 working shifts in a real industrial environment. The work also presents a hydrogen refuelling station (dispensing pressure up to 185 bar) with integrated MH compressor which has been developed for forklift refuelling.

Thermal conductivity of the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) components has achieved increased attention over the past decade. Despite the fact that the PEMFC itself (between the gas flow plates) is less than a millimetre in thickness, several °C temperature differences can arise inside it during operation. These temperature differences mainly arise across the porous transport layers (PTL) often also referred to as gas diffusion layers (GDL). Several research efforts have led to a good understanding of the thermal conductivity of the PTL; in particular to how this property changes with compression, temperature, PTFE content, different fabrics, and water content. Far less attention has been given to the thermal conductivity of the much thinner layered micro porous layer (MPL) and in particular to the thermal conductivity of the transitional region between the PTL and the MPL. In this study we have used X-ray computer tomography (XCT), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thermal conductivity measurements to show that a MPL coated PTL is actually a three layered structure where the PTL is on one side, the MPL on the other, and a composite region consisting of the MPL as a matrix with the PTL fibres in the middle. We have shown that the thermal conductivity of the MPL-PTL-composite region is much larger than for the two others and that temperature differences inside this layer can be neglected compared to the regions where it is MPL-only and PTL-only. We have also shown that the MPL has a significantly lower thermal conductivity than the other two layers. In light of this research, the MPL of the commercial SGL should be integrated into the GDL in order to have lower temperature deviations in the PEMFC. A relevant literature review is included.

The Republic of South Africa (RSA), often seen as the “Powerhouse of Africa” is facing major energy challenges. (Un)planned outages, energy shortages, blackouts, high energy tariffs, many years of underinvestment in power infrastructure and energy poverty in low income households are the main issues. To eradicate this, the RSA government has rolled out several energy and energy efficiency programmes and initiatives with a strong emphasis on off-grid Renewable Energy solutions, Hydrogen Energy, and oil and gas (including shale) exploration opportunities. Since 2013, most of the country's top construction projects focussed on Renewable Energy projects. The country's aspiration is to build-up to an “industrial revolution” incorporating the development of a “Green Economy” which could significantly boost the nation manufacturing base. The aim of this paper is to provide a fact based analysis of the current energy landscape in RSA. This can then be used alongside the aspirations and grand challenges the country has identified to ascertain the scale of the issues that the country faces. This paper is not set out to “solve” the problems of today's energy in RSA, but to provide the evidence needed to think more systematically about them.

Thermal conductivities and compression of differently composed Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) Catalyst Layers (CLs) were measured, both when dry and when containing liquid water. The results were compared using a 1-D thermal model. Dry CLs, and CLs with low water content, were found to have thermal conductivity values of 0.07–0.11 W K −1 m −1 when compressed in the range of 5–15 bar compaction pressure. When adding water up to 70 mol of water per mole of sulphonic group, it was observed that the water only had an effect on the thermal conductivity with a water content significantly beyond the capacity of the ionomer. This means that water held by and between the catalyst particles contribute to the increase in thermal conductivity rather than water in the ionomer. The CLs were all found to compress irreversibly and to become incompressible above 10 bar compaction pressure. When considering wet porous transport layers (PTL) and moderately humidified CL, the PEMFC maximum internal temperature difference increased by 33% when compared to the commonly assumed CL thermal conductivities.

Metal hydride (MH) thermal sorption compression is an efficient and reliable method allowing a conversion of energy from heat into a compressed hydrogen gas. The most important component of such a thermal engine – the metal hydride material itself – should possess several material features in order to achieve an efficient performance in the hydrogen compression. Apart from the hydrogen storage characteristics important for every solid H storage material (e.g. gravimetric and volumetric efficiency of H storage, hydrogen sorption kinetics and effective thermal conductivity), the thermodynamics of the metal–hydrogen systems is of primary importance resulting in a temperature dependence of the absorption/desorption pressures). Several specific features should be optimised to govern the performance of the MH-compressors including synchronisation of the pressure plateaus for multi-stage compressors, reduction of slope of the isotherms and hysteresis, increase of cycling stability and life time, together with challenges in system design associated with volume expansion of the metal matrix during the hydrogenation. The present review summarises numerous papers and patent literature dealing with MH hydrogen compression technology. The review considers (a) fundamental aspects of materials development with a focus on structure and phase equilibria in the metal–hydrogen systems suitable for the hydrogen compression; and (b) applied aspects, including their consideration from the applied thermodynamic viewpoint, system design features and performances of the metal hydride compressors and major applications.

A long-term (15-year) Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies (HFCT) Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI) strategy was officially launched in September 2008 by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in South Africa. The Hydrogen South Africa (HySA) programme is based upon the beneficiation of the country's large Platinum Group Metal (PGM) resources. HySA comprises of three Centres of Competence: HySA Catalysis, HySA Infrastructure and HySA Systems. HySA Systems, a Systems Integration and Technology Validation Competence Centre on HFCT was established in 2007 at the South African Institute for Advanced Materials Chemistry (SAIAMC) at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). The main objective with HySA Systems is to (i) develop Hydrogen and Fuel Cell systems, demonstrators, prototypes and products, (ii) perform technology validation and system integration and (iii) focus on system oriented material R&D in two key HySA-programmes: (1) Combined Heat and Power (CHP) and (2) Hydrogen Fuelled Vehicles (HFV). HySA Systems is also responsible for the development, prototyping, testing and commissioning of the following key technologies: High Temperature (HT) Membrane Electrode Assemblies (MEAs), HT-Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells, metal hydrides for hydrogen storage and compression systems, hydrogen fuel cell/battery power modules, palladium membranes, and lithium-ion batteries. HySA Systems has successfully: a) implemented some pilot plant manufacturing facilities/capabilities for HFC components and systems in South Africa, b) been partnering with key international HFC and local industries, c) established a local Supply Chain of SMMEs, d) set up industrial/commercial agreements with national/international HFC players, e) been disseminating their findings/work in High Impact Factor Journals and National/International Conferences, and f) innovated and thus generated Intellectual Property in key HFC technologies.

Indium tin oxide (ITO) was used as a support for IrO 2 catalyst in the oxygen evolution reaction. IrO 2 nanoparticles were deposited in various loading on commercially available ITO nanoparticle, 17–28 nm in size using the Adam's fusion method. The prepared catalysts were characterised using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The BET surface area of the support (35 m 2 /g) was 3 times lower than the unsupported IrO 2 (112.7 m 2 /g). The surface area and electronic conductivity of the catalysts were predominantly contributed by the IrO 2 . The supported catalysts were tested in a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) for electrolyser operation. The 90% IrO 2 -ITO gave similar performance (1.74 V@1 A/cm 2 ) to that of the unsupported IrO 2 (1.73 V@1 A/cm 2 ) in the MEA polarisation test at 80 °C with Nafion 115 membrane which was attributed to a better dispersion of the active IrO 2 on the electrochemically inactive ITO support, giving rise to smaller catalyst particle and thereby higher surface area. Large IrO 2 particles on the support significantly reduced the electrode performance. A comparison of TiO 2 and ITO as support material showed that, 60% IrO 2 loading was able to cover the support surface and giving sufficient conductivity to the catalyst.

A light electric vehicle (golf cart, 5 kW nominal motor power) was integrated with a commercial 1.2 kW PEM fuel cell system, and fuelled by compressed hydrogen (two composite cylinders, 6.8 L/300 bar each). Comparative driving tests in the battery and hybrid (battery + fuel cell) powering modes were performed. The introduction of the fuel cell was shown to result in extending the driving range by 63–110%, when the amount of the stored H2 fuel varied within 55–100% of the maximum capacity. The operation in the hybrid mode resulted in more stable driving performances, as well as in the increase of the total energy both withdrawn by the vehicle and returned to the vehicle battery during the driving. Statistical analysis of the power patterns taken during the driving in the battery and hybrid-powering modes showed that the latter provided stable operation in a wider power range, including higher frequency and higher average values of the peak power.

The performance of 1 kW el 48-cell HT-PEMFC at various experimental conditions is presented, particularly at several CO concentrations (up to 1.0%). Polarization curves measured at various anode (1.0–2.5) and cathode (1.6–4.0) stoichiometries; stack operating temperatures (120–160 °C) and gas pressures (up to 0.5 bar g ) are reported and analysed. The minimum gas stoichiometries of 1.25 and 2.0 were determined for the anode and cathode, respectively. The highest stack power density of 225 mW cm −2 was measured at 160 °C and 0.4 A cm −2 . Operation at CO concentrations up to 1% was achieved, although a loss of performance of about 4% was observed for low CO concentrations. The operating temperature enhanced fuel cell performance and tolerance to CO, even when supplied with higher CO concentration in the anode feed gas.

Gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs) prepared with various polymer binders in their catalyst layers (CLs) were investigated to optimize the performance of phosphoric acid doped polybenzimidazole (PBI)-based high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells (HT-PEMFCs). The properties of these binders in the CLs were evaluated by structure characterization, electrochemical analysis, single cell polarization and durability test. The results showed that polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) are more attractive as CL binders than conventional PBI or Nafion binder. At ambient pressure and 160 °C, the maximum power density can reach ∼ 0.61 W cm −2 (PTFE GDE), and the current density at 0.6 V is up to ca. 0.52 A cm −2 (PVDF GDE), with H 2 /air and a platinum loading of 0.5 mg cm −2 on these electrodes. Also, both GDEs showed good stability for fuel cell operation in a short term durability test.

Metal hydride materials offer attractive solutions in addressing problems associated with hydrogen separation and purification from waste flue gases. However, a challenging problem is the deterioration of hydrogen charging performances resulting from the surface chemical action of electrophilic gases. In this work, the feasibility study of poisoning tolerance of surface modified AB5-type hydride forming materials and their application for hydrogen separation from process gases containing carbon dioxide and monoxide was carried out. Target composition of La(Ni,Co,Mn,Al)5 substrate was chosen to provide maximum reversible hydrogen capacity at the process conditions. The selected substrate alloy has been shown to be effectively surface-modified by fluorination followed by electroless deposition of palladium. The surface-modified material exhibited good coating quality, high cycle stability and minimal deterioration of kinetics of selective hydrogen absorption at room temperature, from gas mixtures containing 10% CO2 and up to 100 ppm CO. The experimental prototype of a hydrogen separation unit, based on the surface-modified metal hydride material, was tested and exhibited stable hydrogen separation and purification performances when exposed to feedstocks containing concentrations of CO2 and CO of up to 30% and 100 ppm, respectively.

The thermal conductivity and the thickness change with pressure of several different micro porous layers (MPL) used for the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) were measured. The MPL were made with different compositions of carbon and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). A one-dimensional thermal PEMFC model was used to estimate the impact that the MPL has on the temperature profiles though the PEMFC. The thermal conductivity was found to vary from as low as 0.05 up to as high as 0.12 W K−1 m−1 while the compaction pressure was varied from 4 bar and up to around 16 bar resulting in a decrease in thickness of approximately 40%. The PTFE content, which varied between 10 and 25%, did not result in any significant change in the compression or thermal conductivity. Both the thickness and the thermal conductivity changed irreversibly with compaction pressure. Considering a MPL thermal conductivity of 0.1 W K−1 m−1, a MPL thickness of 45 μm, a current density of 10 kA m−2 (1.0 A cm−2), liquid water (production and sorption), and a 30 μm membrane it was found that the MPL is responsible for a temperature increase of up to 2 °C. This contribution can be lowered by integrating the MPL into the porous transport layer.

Studies were conducted to investigate the influence of deposition solution composition (methanol ≤ the deposition solvent ≤ ethanol) on their physical and chemical properties that matters in the aerosol formation and subsequent decomposition during the aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition (AACVD) of ZnFe2O4 electrodes. The FEGSEM studies found that the change of composition of deposition solution produced a dramatic change in the ZnFe2O4 electrode texture. The ZnFe2O4 electrodes deposited from methanol as well as predominately methanolic solvents had a relatively compact morphology. In contrast, the electrodes deposited from ethanol as well as predominately ethanolic solvents showed highly textured rod-like structure at nanoscale. The change in electrode texture is explained in terms of changes occurred in precursor decomposition pathways from heterogeneous and homogeneous when the composition of deposition solution is systematically varied. The photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties of all ZnFe2O4 electrodes were studied by recording J–V characteristics under AM1.5 illumination and the photocurrent spectra. The textured electrodes exhibited a significantly higher photocurrent compared to their compact counterparts. This is attributed to the improved photogenerated minority carrier collection at the ZnFe2O4/electrolyte interface as the average feature size gradually decreased. The photocurrent density (at 0.25 V vs. Ag/AgCl/3M KCl) increases rapidly when the electrode is deposited from the solvent containing 60% ethanol and above, which is in close agreement with the textural changes taken place in ZnFe2O4 electrodes.

In this study, methane and methanol steam reforming reactions over commercial Ni/Al2O3, commercial Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 and prepared Ni–Cu/Al2O3 catalysts were investigated. Methane and methanol steam reforming reactions catalysts were characterized using various techniques. The results of characterization showed that Cu particles increase the active particle size of Ni (19.3 nm) in Ni–Cu/Al2O3 catalyst with respect to the commercial Ni/Al2O3 (17.9). On the other hand, Ni improves Cu dispersion in the same catalyst (1.74%) in comparison with commercial Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 (0.21%). A comprehensive comparison between these two fuels is established in terms of reaction conditions, fuel conversion, H2 selectivity, CO2 and CO selectivity. The prepared catalyst showed low selectivity for CO in both fuels and it was more selective to H2, with H2 selectivities of 99% in methane and 89% in methanol reforming reactions. A significant objective is to develop catalysts which can operate at lower temperatures and resist deactivation. Methanol steam reforming is carried out at a much lower temperature than methane steam reforming in prepared and commercial catalyst (275–325 °C). However, methane steam reforming can be carried out at a relatively low temperature on Ni–Cu catalyst (600–650 °C) and at higher temperature in commercial methane reforming catalyst (700–800 °C). Commercial Ni/Al2O3 catalyst resulted in high coke formation (28.3% loss in mass) compared to prepared Ni–Cu/Al2O3 (8.9%) and commercial Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalysts (3.5%).