DOB Energy
Technology turns ocean water
into carbon-free hydrogen source
Cathryn Atkinson - June 17, 2026
EDMONTON, ALTA. - A patented technology developed at the University of Alberta has resulted in a sea change, literally, in the process of making carbon-free hydrogen using water.
Avoided due to its saline content, ocean water can now be broken down to create green hydrogen after electrochemistry professor Steve Bergens and his team took a new approach to the established way of using water electrolysis.
In an interview with DOB Energy, Bergens said they started with the commonly used separation of hydrogen from oxygen through an electrolyzer system, which uses two electrodes to split water into its elemental parts to extract hydrogen.
“We took the electrolyzer systems that everybody’s working on, and we made sure that our system could adapt into that,” he said.
Since water is a stable molecule, the process is notoriously slow and expensive to carry out, and researchers around the globe have tried to speed up reactions.
Bergen’s approach was to use rare materials as catalysts or when building complex systems and simplify the process by looking at how the components of water held together.
“We adapted [the process], and then we put in the systems that they need for an electrolyzer to split water, and it worked beautifully,” he said.
The team developed a cheap, conductive “glue” that could be made using low-cost materials and techniques.
Having first used triple distilled fresh water for testing, they then discovered the process worked using ocean water shipped from Vancouver to Edmonton. Successfully using seawater means a new, abundant source of hydrogen is available, Bergens said, since oceans make up about 97 per cent of the Earth’s water.
When one of his students came to tell him that the process worked, Bergens told him to retest it.
“I said, ‘B.S., try it again.’ There’s nothing scarier than a good result, you know? You have to make sure,” Bergens said.
They repeated the experimentation many times under different conditions, “and it always worked very well, better than anything out there.”
The process is so efficient, Bergens says it can be powered by any source, including wind, solar, hydroelectricity, nuclear power, tidal, or conventional power, and operate anywhere hydrogen is needed, on-site.
The team found that they could even make hydrogen in an open-air beaker with a battery.
“In fact, we just had some visitors yesterday in the lab, and I said to my post-doc who’s working on the project, ‘Okay, set one up with a flashlight battery,’ and it worked beautifully,” Bergens said.
“I think we’re adding vital flexibility to what’s going on in this province and in all provinces.
“I don’t see us competing with the way things are done now at all. I see us enhancing it and providing alternatives.”
Uses and commercializing with Cipher Neutron
The process combines ease, scalability, and adaptability and this creates strong commercial potential, Bergens said.
He said from an energy perspective, the hydrogen created in their process can be a substitute in every industry process that uses it.
“So, the market… I mean, I’m a chemist, but the market is huge. The opportunities are all over the place,” he said.
One example of where their method can cut CO2 emissions, he said, was hydrogen creation by steam reforming natural gas.
“Reacting natural gas with steam requires a big factory, a lot of different steps, and then you have to transport the hydrogen that you get from there,” Bergens said.
“You need a place where you can bring in natural gas, bring in water, set up a factory, deal with the energy requirements, deal with the CO2 emissions and then pipe the hydrogen to where you need it.
“And if in the future we want to continue to decarbonize the petroleum industry, we’re going to have to start looking at what we’re doing with the CO2 that steam reformers are making.”
Ontario-based Cipher Neutron, a clean energy company that focuses on the design and commercialization of Anion Exchange Membrane (AEM) electrolyzers for green hydrogen creation, licensed the technology from the University of Alberta in January 2026.
Bergens said they added their technology to Cipher Neutron’s earlier this year and testing confirmed the possibilities, with further testing continuing.
U of A support essential
The Future Energy Systems Program (FES) at the university provided the project with funds that would allow them to explore all ideas, whether successful or failures, until the team found the best system.
“It’s a wonderful program because it’s one of the only times I’ve seen where they give you funds, but also the time to explore failure space,” Bergens said.
He said the FES support allowed the team to change its entire research direction and group work.
The breakthrough also came a year after the University of Alberta launched the Centre for Hydrogen Innovation, Workforce Development and Outreach, which brought together scientists of different specialisms for projects.