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Is direct seawater splitting economically meaningful?
Summary
Researchers analyzed the economics of splitting seawater directly for hydrogen production versus purifying water first and then performing electrolysis. The study found that direct seawater splitting offers almost no cost or energy advantage over simply purifying water before electrolysis, facing significant technical challenges with minimal practical benefit.
In this analysis, we show that direct seawater splitting with or without additives faces significant challenges and bears almost no advantage with respect to the costs and energy demands to purify water prior to water electrolysis.
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