In March 2025, NewHydrogen, Inc., in partnership with the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), filed a patent application for a new approach in hydrogen generation. The patent, entitled “Coupled Multi-Phase Oxidation-Reduction for Production of Chemicals,” proposes a thermochemical route designed to produce green hydrogen using heat and water.
(Source: GlobeNewswire, NewHydrogen, Hydrogen Central)
This innovation is part of NewHydrogen’s ThermoLoop™ technology, a process the company positions as a lower-cost, scalable alternative to electricity-driven electrolysis.
The Problem: Why Replace Electrolysis?
Currently, most “green” hydrogen is produced by water electrolysis powered by renewable electricity (solar, wind). But this approach faces significant cost and efficiency hurdles:
Electricity cost burden: In many estimates, the cost of green electricity constitutes a large fraction of hydrogen production cost. NewHydrogen claims that green electricity accounts for ~73% of hydrogen cost under conventional electrolysis.
Capital expense & materials: Electrolyzers (especially proton exchange membrane (PEM) and solid oxide types) require expensive materials, catalysts, rare metals, and robust infrastructure.
Energy conversion inefficiency: Converting solar/wind → electricity → hydrogen has multiple conversion steps, each incurring inefficiencies and losses. If one can instead use heat + water (directly) for hydrogen production, many of these inefficiencies may be bypassed. That is the promise that ThermoLoop™ seeks to deliver.
ThermoLoop™ & the Patent: How the Technology Works
Core Idea: Coupled Multi-Phase Oxidation-Reduction Cycles
Instead of relying on electrolysis, the patent describes a thermochemical water-splitting process driven by multi-phase oxidation–reduction cycles using regenerable reactive solids.
Key features disclosed:
- Separation of oxidation and reduction phases – The process decouples the two steps, enabling hydrogen production without electrochemical cells.
- Lower temperature operation – Designed to work at lower temperatures compared to many conventional thermochemical cycles.
- Regenerable reactive solids – Solid materials can be cycled through oxidation and reduction steps repeatedly.
(Source: GlobeNewswire, Hydrogen Central)
Claimed Advantages
From its public disclosures, NewHydrogen states:
- ThermoLoop™ has the potential to produce green hydrogen at significantly lower cost.
- It avoids the expensive hardware and electricity demands of electrolyzers.
- The collaboration with UCSB supports materials science innovation and validation.
(Source: GlobeNewswire, Hydrogen Central)
Strategic Significance
- IP Strategy – By filing the patent with UCSB, NewHydrogen strengthens its position in thermochemical hydrogen production.
- Market Relevance – Hydrogen is central to the clean energy transition, with major applications in energy, transport, and manufacturing.
(Source: GlobeNewswire, Hydrogen Central)
Outlook & Implications for the Clean-Energy Transition
If NewHydrogen’s technology succeeds, the implications could be significant:
- Lower cost green hydrogen
By removing or reducing the electricity cost component, ThermoLoop may make hydrogen more economical, accelerating adoption in key sectors. - Decentralized and localized hydrogen
Because the system may rely on local heat sources or waste heat, hydrogen production could become more distributed, closer to demand centers. - Faster decarbonization of hard sectors
Industries like steel, ammonia, heavy transport, and chemicals—often difficult to electrify—could adopt cleaner hydrogen more readily. - Shift in research focus
More investment might flow into thermochemical and hybrid routes (heat + catalysis), not just improvements in electrolysis.
Conclusion
NewHydrogen’s ThermoLoop™ technology and its patent filing mark a notable step toward alternative pathways for green hydrogen production. By focusing on heat-driven, solid-state oxidation–reduction cycles rather than electrolysis, the company aims to lower costs and broaden scalability.
The coming stages of development will determine how effectively ThermoLoop™ can be applied in practice, but the patent filing underscores a growing diversification of approaches in the global hydrogen landscape.
