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hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxi ...
technology.


Timeline


16th century

* c. 1520 – First recorded observation of hydrogen by
Paracelsus Paracelsus (; ; 1493 – 24 September 1541), born Theophrastus von Hohenheim (full name Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim), was a Swiss physician, alchemist, lay theologian, and philosopher of the German Renaissance. H ...
through dissolution of metals (iron, zinc, and tin) in sulfuric acid.


17th century

* 1625 – First description of hydrogen by Johann Baptista van Helmont. First to use the word "gas". * 1650 – Turquet de Mayerne obtained a gas or "inflammable air" by the action of dilute sulphuric acid on iron. * 1662 –
Boyle's law Boyle's law, also referred to as the Boyle–Mariotte law, or Mariotte's law (especially in France), is an experimental gas law that describes the relationship between pressure and volume of a confined gas. Boyle's law has been stated as: The a ...
(gas law relating pressure and volume) * 1670 –
Robert Boyle Robert Boyle (; 25 January 1627 – 31 December 1691) was an Anglo-Irish natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, alchemist and inventor. Boyle is largely regarded today as the first modern chemist, and therefore one of the founders of ...
produced hydrogen by reacting metals with acid. * 1672 – "New Experiments touching the Relation between Flame and Air" by
Robert Boyle Robert Boyle (; 25 January 1627 – 31 December 1691) was an Anglo-Irish natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, alchemist and inventor. Boyle is largely regarded today as the first modern chemist, and therefore one of the founders of ...
. * 1679 –
Denis Papin Denis Papin FRS (; 22 August 1647 – 26 August 1713) was a French physicist, mathematician and inventor, best known for his pioneering invention of the steam digester, the forerunner of the pressure cooker and of the steam engine. Early l ...
safety valve A safety valve is a valve that acts as a fail-safe. An example of safety valve is a pressure relief valve (PRV), which automatically releases a substance from a boiler, pressure vessel, or other system, when the pressure or temperature exceeds ...
* 1700 –
Nicolas Lemery Nicolas Lémery (or Lemery as his name appeared in his international publications) (17 November 1645 – 19 June 1715), French chemist, was born at Rouen. He was one of the first to develop theories on acid-base chemistry. Life After learning ph ...
showed that the gas produced in the sulfuric acid/iron reaction was explosive in air


18th century

* 1755 –
Joseph Black Joseph Black (16 April 1728 – 6 December 1799) was a Scottish physicist and chemist, known for his discoveries of magnesium, latent heat, specific heat, and carbon dioxide. He was Professor of Anatomy and Chemistry at the University of Glas ...
confirmed that different gases exist. /
Latent heat Latent heat (also known as latent energy or heat of transformation) is energy released or absorbed, by a body or a thermodynamic system, during a constant-temperature process — usually a first-order phase transition. Latent heat can be underst ...
* 1766 –
Henry Cavendish Henry Cavendish ( ; 10 October 1731 – 24 February 1810) was an English natural philosopher and scientist who was an important experimental and theoretical chemist and physicist. He is noted for his discovery of hydrogen, which he termed "infl ...
published in "On Factitious Airs" a description of " dephlogisticated air" by reacting zinc metal with
hydrochloric acid Hydrochloric acid, also known as muriatic acid, is an aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride. It is a colorless solution with a distinctive pungent smell. It is classified as a strong acid. It is a component of the gastric acid in the digestiv ...
and isolated a gas 7 to 11 times lighter than air. * 1774 –
Joseph Priestley Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted exp ...
isolated and categorized oxygen. * 1780 –
Felice Fontana Abbé Gasparo Ferdinando Felice Fontana (15 April 1730 – 9 March 1805) was an Italian polymath who contributed to experimental studies in physiology, toxicology, and physics. As a physicist he discovered the water gas shift reaction in 1780. He ...
discovers the
water-gas shift reaction Water gas is a kind of fuel gas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. It is produced by "alternately hot blowing a fuel layer okewith air and gasifying it with steam". The caloric yield of this is about 10% of a modern syngas plant. Fu ...
* 1783 –
Antoine Lavoisier Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier ( , ; ; 26 August 17438 May 1794),
CNRS (
Gk'': hydro = water, genes = born of) * 1783 –
Jacques Charles Jacques Alexandre César Charles (November 12, 1746 – April 7, 1823) was a French inventor, scientist, mathematician, and balloonist. Charles wrote almost nothing about mathematics, and most of what has been credited to him was due to mistaking ...
made the first flight with his hydrogen balloon "La Charlière". * 1783 –
Antoine Lavoisier Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier ( , ; ; 26 August 17438 May 1794),
CNRS (
Pierre Laplace Pierre-Simon, marquis de Laplace (; ; 23 March 1749 – 5 March 1827) was a French scholar and polymath whose work was important to the development of engineering, mathematics, statistics, physics, astronomy, and philosophy. He summarized ...
measured the heat of combustion of hydrogen using an
ice calorimeter Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaq ...
. * 1784 –
Jean-Pierre Blanchard Jean-Pierre rançoisBlanchard (4 July 1753 – 7 March 1809) was a French inventor, best known as a pioneer of gas balloon flight, who distinguished himself in the conquest of the air in a balloon, in particular the first crossing of the Englis ...
, attempted a dirigible hydrogen balloon, but it would not steer. * 1784 – The invention of the
Lavoisier Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier ( , ; ; 26 August 17438 May 1794),
CNRS (
Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier () was a French chemistry and physics teacher, and one of the first pioneers of aviation. He made the first manned free balloon flight with François Laurent d'Arlandes on 21 November 1783, in a Montgolfier bal ...
built the hybrid
Rozière balloon A Rozière balloon (or simply Rozière) is a type of hybrid balloon that has separate chambers for a non-heated lifting gas (such as hydrogen or helium) as well as for a heated lifting gas (as used in a hot air balloon or Montgolfière). The desig ...
. * 1787 –
Charles's law Charles's law (also known as the law of volumes) is an experimental gas law that describes how gases tend to expand when heated. A modern statement of Charles's law is: When the pressure on a sample of a dry gas is held constant, the Kelvin ...
(gas law, relating volume and temperature) * 1789 –
Jan Rudolph Deiman Jan Rudolph Deiman or Johann Rudolf Deimann (29 August 1743 – 15 January 1808) was a German-Dutch physician and chemist who was among the first to examine electrolysis of water, and examine the application of electricity for medical uses along wi ...
and
Adriaan Paets van Troostwijk Adriaan Paets van Troostwijk (4 March 1752 – 3 April 1837) was a Dutch businessman amateur chemist. He conducted experiments and theorized on the nature of substances, conduct some of the earliest experiments on the electrolysis of water in colla ...
using an electrostatic machine and a
Leyden jar A Leyden jar (or Leiden jar, or archaically, sometimes Kleistian jar) is an electrical component that stores a high-voltage electric charge (from an external source) between electrical conductors on the inside and outside of a glass jar. It typi ...
for the first
electrolysis of water Electrolysis of water, also known as electrochemical water splitting, is the process of using electricity to decompose water into oxygen and hydrogen gas by electrolysis. Hydrogen gas released in this way can be used as hydrogen fuel, or rem ...
. * 1800 – William Nicholson and
Anthony Carlisle Sir Anthony Carlisle FRCS, FRS (15 February 1768 in Stillington, County Durham, England – 2 November 1840 in London) was an English surgeon. Life He was born in Stillington, County Durham, the third son of Thomas Carlisle and his first wife, ...
decomposed
water Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...
into
hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxi ...
and
oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as well ...
by
electrolysis In chemistry and manufacturing, electrolysis is a technique that uses direct electric current (DC) to drive an otherwise non-spontaneous chemical reaction. Electrolysis is commercially important as a stage in the separation of elements from na ...
with a
voltaic pile upright=1.2, Schematic diagram of a copper–zinc voltaic pile. The copper and zinc discs were separated by cardboard or felt spacers soaked in salt water (the electrolyte). Volta's original piles contained an additional zinc disk at the bottom, ...
. * 1800 –
Johann Wilhelm Ritter Johann Wilhelm Ritter (16 December 1776 – 23 January 1810). was a German chemist, physicist and philosopher. He was born in Samitz (Zamienice) near Haynau (Chojnów) in Silesia (then part of Prussia, since 1945 in Poland), and died in Munic ...
duplicated the experiment with a rearranged set of electrodes to collect the two gases separately.


19th century

* 1801 –
Humphry Davy Sir Humphry Davy, 1st Baronet, (17 December 177829 May 1829) was a British chemist and inventor who invented the Davy lamp and a very early form of arc lamp. He is also remembered for isolating, by using electricity, several elements for the ...
discovers the concept of the
Fuel Cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in requ ...
. * 1806 – François Isaac de Rivaz built the
de Rivaz engine The de Rivaz engine was a pioneering reciprocating engine designed and developed from 1804 by the Franco-Swiss inventor Isaac de Rivaz. The engine has a claim to be the world's first internal combustion engine and contained some features of modern ...
, the first
internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combust ...
powered by a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen. * 1809 –
Thomas Forster Thomas Forster (1683 – October 1738), of Adderstone Hall, Northumberland, was an English landowner and Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1708 to 1716. He served as a general of the Jacobite army in the 1715 Uprising ...
observed with a
theodolite A theodolite () is a precision optical instrument for measuring angles between designated visible points in the horizontal and vertical planes. The traditional use has been for land surveying, but it is also used extensively for building and ...
the drift of small free
pilot balloon A ceiling balloon also called a pilot balloon or pibal, is used by meteorologists to determine the height of the base of clouds above ground level during daylight hours. In the past, and sometimes today, a theodolite was used to track the ball ...
s filled with "inflammable gas" * 1809 –
Gay-Lussac's law Gay-Lussac's law usually refers to Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac's law of combining volumes of gases, discovered in 1808 and published in 1809. It sometimes refers to the proportionality of the volume of a gas to its absolute temperature at constant p ...
(gas law, relating temperature and pressure) * 1811 –
Amedeo Avogadro Lorenzo Romano Amedeo Carlo Avogadro, Count of Quaregna and Cerreto (, also , ; 9 August 17769 July 1856) was an Italian scientist, most noted for his contribution to molecular theory now known as Avogadro's law, which states that equal volum ...
Avogadro's law Avogadro's law (sometimes referred to as Avogadro's hypothesis or Avogadro's principle) or Avogadro-Ampère's hypothesis is an experimental gas law relating the volume of a gas to the amount of substance of gas present. The law is a specific cas ...
a gas law * 1819 –
Edward Daniel Clarke Edward Daniel Clarke (5 June 17699 March 1822) was an English clergyman, naturalist, mineralogist, and traveller. Life Edward Daniel Clarke was born at Willingdon, Sussex, and educated first at Uckfield School"Anthony Saunders, D.D." in Mark ...
invented the hydrogen gas blowpipe. * 1820 – W. Cecil wrote a letter "On the application of hydrogen gas to produce a moving power in machinery" * 1823 –
Goldsworthy Gurney Sir Goldsworthy Gurney (14 February 1793 – 28 February 1875) was an English surgeon, chemist, architect, builder, lecturer and consultant. He was a prototypical British gentleman scientist and inventor of the Victorian era. Amongst many ac ...
demonstrated
limelight Limelight (also known as Drummond light or calcium light)James R. Smith (2004). ''San Francisco's Lost Landmarks'', Quill Driver Books. is a type of stage lighting once used in theatres and music halls. An intense illumination is created whe ...
. * 1823 –
Döbereiner's Lamp Döbereiner's lamp, also called a "tinderbox" ("Feuerzeug"), is a lighter invented in 1823 by the German chemist Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner. The lighter is based on the Fürstenberger lighter (invented in Basel in 1780; in which hydrogen gas i ...
a
lighter A lighter is a portable device which creates a flame, and can be used to ignite a variety of items, such as cigarettes, gas lighter, fireworks, candles or campfires. It consists of a metal or plastic container filled with a flammable liquid or c ...
invented by
Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner (13 December 1780 – 24 March 1849) was a German chemist who is best known for work that foreshadowed the periodic law for the chemical elements, and for inventing the first lighter, which was known as the Döberei ...
. * 1823 –
Goldsworthy Gurney Sir Goldsworthy Gurney (14 February 1793 – 28 February 1875) was an English surgeon, chemist, architect, builder, lecturer and consultant. He was a prototypical British gentleman scientist and inventor of the Victorian era. Amongst many ac ...
devised an oxy-hydrogen blowpipe. * 1824 –
Michael Faraday Michael Faraday (; 22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867) was an English scientist who contributed to the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. His main discoveries include the principles underlying electromagnetic induction, ...
invented the rubber
balloon A balloon is a flexible bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, and air. For special tasks, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media (e.g. sand, flour or rice), or light s ...
. * 1826 –
Thomas Drummond Captain Thomas Drummond (10 October 1797 – 15 April 1840), from Edinburgh was a Scottish army officer, civil engineer and senior public official. He used the Drummond light which was employed in the trigonometrical survey of Great Britain and ...
built the
Drummond Light Limelight (also known as Drummond light or calcium light)James R. Smith (2004). ''San Francisco's Lost Landmarks'', Quill Driver Books. is a type of stage lighting once used in theatres and music halls. An intense illumination is created when ...
. * 1826 – Samuel Brown tested his
internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combust ...
by using it to propel a vehicle up
Shooter's Hill Shooter's Hill (or Shooters Hill) is a district in South East London within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It borders the London Borough of Bexley. It lies north of Eltham and south of Woolwich. With a height of , it is the highest point in ...
* 1834 –
Michael Faraday Michael Faraday (; 22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867) was an English scientist who contributed to the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. His main discoveries include the principles underlying electromagnetic induction, ...
published
Faraday's laws of electrolysis Faraday's laws of electrolysis are quantitative relationships based on the electrochemical research published by Michael Faraday in 1833. First law Michael Faraday reported that the mass (m) of elements deposited at an electrode is directly pro ...
. * 1834 – Benoît Paul Émile Clapeyron
Ideal gas law The ideal gas law, also called the general gas equation, is the equation of state of a hypothetical ideal gas. It is a good approximation of the behavior of many gases under many conditions, although it has several limitations. It was first stat ...
* 1836 –
John Frederic Daniell John Frederic Daniell FRS (12 March 1790 – 13 March 1845) was an English chemist and physicist. Biography Daniell was born in London. In 1831 he became the first professor of chemistry at the newly founded King's College London; and in ...
invented a
primary cell A primary battery or primary cell is a battery (a galvanic cell) that is designed to be used once and discarded, and not recharged with electricity and reused like a secondary cell (rechargeable battery). In general, the electrochemical reaction ...
in which hydrogen was eliminated in the generation of the electricity. * 1839 – Christian Friedrich Schönbein published the principle of the
fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in requ ...
in the "
Philosophical Magazine The ''Philosophical Magazine'' is one of the oldest scientific journals published in English. It was established by Alexander Tilloch in 1798;John Burnett"Tilloch, Alexander (1759–1825)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford Unive ...
". * 1839 –
William Robert Grove Sir William Robert Grove, FRS FRSE (11 July 1811 – 1 August 1896) was a Welsh judge and physical scientist. He anticipated the general theory of the conservation of energy, and was a pioneer of fuel cell technology. He invented the Grove volt ...
developed the
Grove cell The Grove cell was an early electric primary cell named after its inventor, Welsh physical scientist William Robert Grove, and consisted of a zinc anode in dilute sulfuric acid and a platinum cathode in concentrated nitric acid, the two separate ...
. * 1842 –
William Robert Grove Sir William Robert Grove, FRS FRSE (11 July 1811 – 1 August 1896) was a Welsh judge and physical scientist. He anticipated the general theory of the conservation of energy, and was a pioneer of fuel cell technology. He invented the Grove volt ...
developed the first fuel cell (which he called the gas voltaic battery) * 1849 – Eugène Bourdon
Bourdon gauge Pressure measurement is the measurement of an applied force by a fluid (liquid or gas) on a surface. Pressure is typically measured in units of force per unit of surface area. Many techniques have been developed for the measurement of pressu ...
(
manometer Pressure measurement is the measurement of an applied force by a fluid (liquid or gas) on a surface. Pressure is typically measured in units of force per unit of surface area. Many techniques have been developed for the measurement of pressure ...
) * 1863 – Etienne Lenoir made a test drive from Paris to Joinville-le-Pont with the 1-cylinder, 2-stroke
Hippomobile The Hippomobile is an automobile invented by Étienne Lenoir in 1863 which carried its own internal combustion engine. It was based on his 1860 invention, the Lenoir gas engine. History In 1863 the Hippomobile, powered by one cylinder internal ...
running on
coal gas Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made from coal and supplied to the user via a piped distribution system. It is produced when coal is heated strongly in the absence of air. Town gas is a more general term referring to manufactured gaseous ...
* 1866 –
August Wilhelm von Hofmann August Wilhelm von Hofmann (8 April 18185 May 1892) was a German chemist who made considerable contributions to organic chemistry. His research on aniline helped lay the basis of the aniline-dye industry, and his research on coal tar laid the ...
invents the Hofmann voltameter for the
electrolysis of water Electrolysis of water, also known as electrochemical water splitting, is the process of using electricity to decompose water into oxygen and hydrogen gas by electrolysis. Hydrogen gas released in this way can be used as hydrogen fuel, or rem ...
. * 1873 – Thaddeus S. C. Lowe
Water gas Water gas is a kind of fuel gas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. It is produced by "alternately hot blowing a fuel layer okewith air and gasifying it with steam". The caloric yield of this is about 10% of a modern syngas plant. Fu ...
, the process used the
water gas shift reaction Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...
. * 1874 –
Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;'' Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...
The Mysterious Island ''The Mysterious Island'' (french: L'Île mystérieuse) is a novel by Jules Verne, published in 1875. The original edition, published by Hetzel, contains a number of illustrations by Jules Férat. The novel is a crossover sequel to Verne's ...
, "water will one day be employed as fuel, that hydrogen and oxygen of which it is constituted will be used" * 1884 – Charles Renard and
Arthur Constantin Krebs Arthur Constantin Krebs (16 November 1850 in Vesoul, France – 22 March 1935 in Quimperlé, France) was a French officer and pioneer in automotive engineering. Life Collaborating with Charles Renard, he piloted the first fully control ...
launch the
airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...
La France. * 1885 – Zygmunt Florenty Wróblewski published hydrogen's critical temperature as 33 K; critical pressure, 13.3 atmospheres; and boiling point, 23 K. * 1889 –
Ludwig Mond Ludwig Mond FRS (7 March 1839 – 11 December 1909) was a German-born, British chemist and industrialist. He discovered an important, previously unknown, class of compounds called metal carbonyls. Education and career Ludwig Mond was born ...
and Carl Langer coined the name ''
fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in requ ...
'' and tried to build one running on air and Mond gas. * 1893 –
Friedrich Wilhelm Ostwald Friedrich Wilhelm Ostwald (; 4 April 1932) was a Baltic German chemist and philosopher. Ostwald is credited with being one of the founders of the field of physical chemistry, with Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff, Walther Nernst, and Svante Arrhen ...
experimentally determined the interconnected roles of the various components of the fuel cell. * 1895 –
Hydrolysis Hydrolysis (; ) is any chemical reaction in which a molecule of water breaks one or more chemical bonds. The term is used broadly for substitution, elimination, and solvation reactions in which water is the nucleophile. Biological hydrolysis i ...
* 1896 – Jackson D.D. and Ellms J.W.,
hydrogen production Hydrogen production is the family of industrial methods for generating hydrogen gas. As of 2020, the majority of hydrogen (∼95%) is produced from fossil fuels by steam reforming of natural gas and other light hydrocarbons, partial oxidation of h ...
by
microalgae Microalgae or microphytes are microscopic algae invisible to the naked eye. They are phytoplankton typically found in freshwater and marine systems, living in both the water column and sediment. They are unicellular species which exist individ ...
(''
Anabaena ''Anabaena'' is a genus of filamentous cyanobacteria that exist as plankton. They are known for nitrogen-fixing abilities, and they form symbiotic relationships with certain plants, such as the mosquito fern. They are one of four genera of cyanob ...
'') * 1896 – Leon Teisserenc de Bort carries out experiments with high flying instrumental
weather balloon A weather balloon, also known as sounding balloon, is a balloon (specifically a type of high-altitude balloon) that carries instruments aloft to send back information on atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity and wind speed by means of a ...
s. * 1897 – Paul Sabatier facilitated the use of
hydrogenation Hydrogenation is a chemical reaction between molecular hydrogen (H2) and another compound or element, usually in the presence of a catalyst such as nickel, palladium or platinum. The process is commonly employed to reduce or saturate organic c ...
with the discovery of the
Sabatier reaction The Sabatier reaction or Sabatier process produces methane and water from a reaction of hydrogen with carbon dioxide at elevated temperatures (optimally 300–400 °C) and pressures (perhaps 3 MPa ) in the presence of a nickel catalyst. ...
. * 1898 –
James Dewar Sir James Dewar (20 September 1842 – 27 March 1923) was a British chemist and physicist. He is best known for his invention of the vacuum flask, which he used in conjunction with research into the liquefaction of gases. He also studied ato ...
liquefied hydrogen by using
regenerative cooling Regenerative cooling is a method of cooling gases in which compressed gas is cooled by allowing it to expand and thereby take heat from the surroundings. The cooled expanded gas then passes through a heat exchanger where it cools the incoming comp ...
and his invention, the
vacuum flask A vacuum flask (also known as a Dewar flask, Dewar bottle or thermos) is an insulating storage vessel that greatly lengthens the time over which its contents remain hotter or cooler than the flask's surroundings. Invented by Sir James Dew ...
at the Royal Institution of Great Britain in London. * 1899 –
James Dewar Sir James Dewar (20 September 1842 – 27 March 1923) was a British chemist and physicist. He is best known for his invention of the vacuum flask, which he used in conjunction with research into the liquefaction of gases. He also studied ato ...
collected
solid hydrogen Solid hydrogen is the solid state of the element hydrogen, achieved by decreasing the temperature below hydrogen's melting point of . It was collected for the first time by James Dewar in 1899 and published with the title "Sur la solidification de ...
for the first time. * 1900 –
Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York ...
Ferdinand von Zeppelin Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin (german: Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin; 8 July 1838 – 8 March 1917) was a German general and later inventor of the Zeppelin rigid airships. His name soon became synonymous with airships a ...
launched the first hydrogen-filled
Zeppelin LZ1 The Zeppelin ''LZ 1'' was the first successful experimental rigid airship. It was first flown from a floating hangar on Lake Constance, near Friedrichshafen in southern Germany, on 2 July 1900.Lueger, Otto: Lexikon der gesamten Technik und ihre ...
airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...
.


20th century

* 1901 –
Wilhelm Normann Wilhelm Normann (16 January 1870, in Petershagen – 1 May 1939, in Chemnitz) (sometimes also spelled ''Norman'') was a German chemist who introduced the hydrogenation of fats in 1901, creating what later became known as trans fats. This inventi ...
introduced the
hydrogenation Hydrogenation is a chemical reaction between molecular hydrogen (H2) and another compound or element, usually in the presence of a catalyst such as nickel, palladium or platinum. The process is commonly employed to reduce or saturate organic c ...
of fats. * 1903 –
Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovskii Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky (russian: Константи́н Эдуа́рдович Циолко́вский , , p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin ɪdʊˈardəvʲɪtɕ tsɨɐlˈkofskʲɪj , a=Ru-Konstantin Tsiolkovsky.oga; – 19 September 1935) ...
published "The Exploration of Cosmic Space by Means of Reaction Devices" * 1907 –
Lane hydrogen producer The Lane hydrogen producer was an apparatus for hydrogen production based on the steam-iron process and water gas invented in 1903 by British engineer, Howard Lane. History The first commercial Lane hydrogen producer was commissioned in 1904. By ...
* 1909 – Count Ferdinand Adolf August von Zeppelin made the first long distance flight with the Zeppelin LZ5. * 1909 – Linde–Frank–Caro process * 1910 – The first Zeppelin passenger flight with the Zeppelin LZ7. * 1910 –
Fritz Haber Fritz Haber (; 9 December 186829 January 1934) was a German chemist who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1918 for his invention of the Haber–Bosch process, a method used in industry to synthesize ammonia from nitrogen gas and hydrogen ...
patented the
Haber process The Haber process, also called the Haber–Bosch process, is an artificial nitrogen fixation process and is the main industrial procedure for the production of ammonia today. It is named after its inventors, the German chemists Fritz Haber and C ...
. * 1912 – The first scheduled international Zeppelin passenger flights with the Zeppelin LZ13. * 1913 –
Niels Bohr Niels Henrik David Bohr (; 7 October 1885 – 18 November 1962) was a Danish physicist who made foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum theory, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922. B ...
explains the
Rydberg formula In atomic physics, the Rydberg formula calculates the wavelengths of a spectral line in many chemical elements. The formula was primarily presented as a generalization of the Balmer series for all atomic electron transitions of hydrogen. It was ...
for the spectrum of hydrogen by imposing a quantization condition on classical orbits of the electron in hydrogen * 1919 – The first Atlantic crossing by airship with the Beardmore HMA R34. * 1920 –
Hydrocracking In petrochemistry, petroleum geology and organic chemistry, cracking is the process whereby complex organic molecules such as kerogens or long-chain hydrocarbons are broken down into simpler molecules such as light hydrocarbons, by the breaking of ...
, a plant for the commercial hydrogenation of brown coal is commissioned at
Leuna Leuna is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, eastern Germany, south of Merseburg and Halle, on the river Saale. The town is known for the '' Leunawerke'', at 13 km2 one of the biggest chemical industrial complexes in Germany, where a very wide range ...
in Germany. * 1923 –
Steam reforming Steam reforming or steam methane reforming (SMR) is a method for producing syngas (hydrogen and carbon monoxide) by reaction of hydrocarbons with water. Commonly natural gas is the feedstock. The main purpose of this technology is hydrogen produc ...
, the first synthetic methanol is produced by BASF in
Leuna Leuna is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, eastern Germany, south of Merseburg and Halle, on the river Saale. The town is known for the '' Leunawerke'', at 13 km2 one of the biggest chemical industrial complexes in Germany, where a very wide range ...
* 1923 –
J. B. S. Haldane John Burdon Sanderson Haldane (; 5 November 18921 December 1964), nicknamed "Jack" or "JBS", was a British-Indian scientist who worked in physiology, genetics, evolutionary biology, and mathematics. With innovative use of statistics in biolog ...
envisioned in Daedalus; or, Science and the Future "great power stations where during windy weather the surplus power will be used for the electrolytic decomposition of water into oxygen and hydrogen." * 1926 –
Wolfgang Pauli Wolfgang Ernst Pauli (; ; 25 April 1900 – 15 December 1958) was an Austrian theoretical physicist and one of the pioneers of quantum physics. In 1945, after having been nominated by Albert Einstein, Pauli received the Nobel Prize in Physics fo ...
and
Erwin Schrödinger Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrödinger (, ; ; 12 August 1887 – 4 January 1961), sometimes written as or , was a Nobel Prize-winning Austrian physicist with Irish citizenship who developed a number of fundamental results in quantum theor ...
show that the Rydberg formula for the spectrum of hydrogen follows from the new
quantum mechanics Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, qu ...
* 1926 –
Partial oxidation Partial oxidation (POX) is a type of chemical reaction. It occurs when a substoichiometric fuel-air mixture is partially combusted in a reformer, creating a hydrogen-rich syngas which can then be put to further use, for example in a fuel cell. A ...
, Vandeveer and Parr at the
University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Universi ...
used oxygen in the place of air for the production of syngas. * 1926 –
Cyril Norman Hinshelwood Sir Cyril Norman Hinshelwood (19 June 1897 – 9 October 1967) was a British physical chemist and expert in chemical kinetics. His work in reaction mechanisms earned the 1956 Nobel Prize in chemistry. Education Born in London, his parents w ...
described the phenomenon of
chain reaction A chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions to take place. In a chain reaction, positive feedback leads to a self-amplifying chain of events. Chain reactions are one way that sys ...
. * 1926 –
Umberto Nobile Umberto Nobile (; 21 January 1885 – 30 July 1978) was an Italian aviator, aeronautical engineer and Arctic explorer. Nobile was a developer and promoter of semi-rigid airships in the years between the two World Wars. He is primarily remembe ...
made the first flight over the
north pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Magn ...
with the hydrogen airship Norge * 1929 –
Paul Harteck Paul Karl Maria Harteck (20 July 190222 January 1985) was an Austrian physical chemist. In 1945 under Operation Epsilon in "the big sweep" throughout Germany, Harteck was arrested by the allied British and American Armed Forces for suspicion o ...
and
Karl Friedrich Bonhoeffer Karl-Friedrich Bonhoeffer (13 January 1899 – 15 May 1957) was a German chemist. Education and career Born in Breslau, he was an older brother of martyred theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. His father was neurologist Karl Bonhoeffer and his mot ...
achieve the first synthesis of pure
parahydrogen Molecular hydrogen occurs in two isomeric forms, one with its two proton nuclear spins aligned parallel (orthohydrogen), the other with its two proton spins aligned antiparallel (parahydrogen).P. Atkins and J. de Paula, Atkins' ''Physical Chemistr ...
. * 1929 – The hydrogen-filled
LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin LZ 127 ''Graf Zeppelin'' () was a German passenger-carrying, hydrogen-filled rigid airship that flew from 1928 to 1937. It offered the first commercial transatlantic passenger flight service. Named after the German airship pioneer Ferdina ...
made a 33,234 km (20,651 mi; 17,945 nmi) circumnavigation of the world. It was the first and only airship to do so, and the second circumnavigation of the globe by air. The voyage took a total of 21 days, 5 hours, and 31 minutes. * 1930 – Rudolf Erren – Erren engine – GB patent GB364180 – Improvements in and relating to internal combustion engines using a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen as fuel * 1935 –
Eugene Wigner Eugene Paul "E. P." Wigner ( hu, Wigner Jenő Pál, ; November 17, 1902 – January 1, 1995) was a Hungarian-American theoretical physicist who also contributed to mathematical physics. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1963 "for his con ...
and H.B. Huntington predicted
metallic hydrogen Metallic hydrogen is a phase of hydrogen in which it behaves like an electrical conductor. This phase was predicted in 1935 on theoretical grounds by Eugene Wigner and Hillard Bell Huntington. At high pressure and temperatures, metallic hydroge ...
. * 1937 – The Zeppelin
LZ 129 Hindenburg LZ 129 ''Hindenburg'' (; Registration: D-LZ 129) was a German commercial passenger-carrying rigid airship, the lead ship of the ''Hindenburg'' class, the longest class of flying machine and the largest airship by envelope volume. It was desi ...
was destroyed by fire. * 1937 – The
Heinkel HeS 1 The Heinkel HeS 1 ''(HeS - Heinkel Strahltriebwerke)'' was Germany's first jet engine, which was a stationary test item that ran on hydrogen. History In 1933, Hans von Ohain wrote his PhD thesis at the University of Göttingen on the topic of an ...
experimental gaseous
hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxi ...
fueled
centrifugal Centrifugal (a key concept in rotating systems) may refer to: *Centrifugal casting (industrial), Centrifugal casting (silversmithing), and Spin casting (centrifugal rubber mold casting), forms of centrifigual casting *Centrifugal clutch *Centrifu ...
jet engine is tested at Hirth in March- the first working jet engine * 1937 – The first
hydrogen-cooled turbogenerator A hydrogen-cooled turbo generator is a turbo generator with gaseous hydrogen as a coolant. Hydrogen-cooled turbo generators are designed to provide a low-drag atmosphere and cooling for single-shaft and combined-cycle applications in combination ...
went into service at
Dayton Dayton () is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County, Ohio, Greene County. The 2020 United S ...
, Ohio. * 1938 – The first 240 km hydrogen pipeline Rhine-Ruhr. * 1938 –
Igor Sikorsky Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky (russian: И́горь Ива́нович Сико́рский, p=ˈiɡərʲ ɪˈvanəvitʃ sʲɪˈkorskʲɪj, a=Ru-Igor Sikorsky.ogg, tr. ''Ígor' Ivánovich Sikórskiy''; May 25, 1889 – October 26, 1972)Fortie ...
from
Sikorsky Aircraft Sikorsky Aircraft is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Stratford, Connecticut. It was established by aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky in 1923 and was among the first companies to manufacture helicopters for civilian and military use. Pre ...
proposed
liquid hydrogen Liquid hydrogen (LH2 or LH2) is the liquid state of the element hydrogen. Hydrogen is found naturally in the molecular H2 form. To exist as a liquid, H2 must be cooled below its critical point of 33  K. However, for it to be in a fully liq ...
as a fuel. * 1939 – Rudolf Erren – Erren engine – US patent 2,183,674 – Internal combustion engine using hydrogen as fuel * 1939 – Hans Gaffron discovered that
algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from u ...
can switch between producing oxygen and hydrogen. * 1941 – The first mass application of hydrogen in
internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combust ...
s: Russian lieutenant Boris Shelishch in the besieged Leningrad has converted some hundreds cars " GAZ-AA" which served posts of barrage balloons of
air defense Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
. * 1943 –
Liquid hydrogen Liquid hydrogen (LH2 or LH2) is the liquid state of the element hydrogen. Hydrogen is found naturally in the molecular H2 form. To exist as a liquid, H2 must be cooled below its critical point of 33  K. However, for it to be in a fully liq ...
is tested as
rocket fuel Rocket propellant is the reaction mass of a rocket. This reaction mass is ejected at the highest achievable velocity from a rocket engine to produce thrust. The energy required can either come from the propellants themselves, as with a chemical ...
at
Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...
. * 1943 – Arne Zetterström describes
hydrox Hydrox is a cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookie currently owned and manufactured by Leaf Brands. It debuted in the United States in 1908, and was manufactured by Sunshine Biscuits for over 90 years. Hydrox was largely discontinued in 1999, ...
* 1947 –
Willis Lamb Willis Eugene Lamb Jr. (; July 12, 1913 – May 15, 2008) was an American physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1955 "for his discoveries concerning the fine structure of the hydrogen spectrum." The Nobel Committee that year awarded hal ...
and Robert Retherford measure the small energy shift (the
Lamb shift In physics, the Lamb shift, named after Willis Lamb, is a difference in energy between two energy levels 2''S''1/2 and 2''P''1/2 (in term symbol notation) of the hydrogen atom which was not predicted by the Dirac equation, according to which th ...
) between the 2s1/2 and 2p1/2 levels of hydrogen, providing a great stimulus to the development of
quantum electrodynamics In particle physics, quantum electrodynamics (QED) is the relativistic quantum field theory of electrodynamics. In essence, it describes how light and matter interact and is the first theory where full agreement between quantum mechanics and speci ...
* 1949 –
Hydrodesulfurization Hydrodesulfurization (HDS) is a catalytic chemical process widely used to remove sulfur (S) from natural gas and from refined petroleum products, such as gasoline or petrol, jet fuel, kerosene, diesel fuel, and fuel oils. The purpose of remo ...
(
Catalytic reforming Catalytic reforming is a chemical process used to convert petroleum refinery naphthas distilled from crude oil (typically having low octane ratings) into high-octane liquid products called reformates, which are premium blending stocks for high-oct ...
is commercialized under the name Platforming process) * 1951 – Underground hydrogen storage * 1952 –
Ivy Mike Ivy Mike was the codename given to the first full-scale test of a thermonuclear device, in which part of the explosive yield comes from nuclear fusion. Ivy Mike was detonated on November 1, 1952, by the United States on the island of Elugelab ...
, the first successful test of a nuclear explosive based on hydrogen (actually, deuterium) fusion * 1952 – Non- Refrigerated transport Dewar * 1955 – W. Thomas Grubb modified the fuel cell design by using a sulphonated polystyrene ion-exchange membrane as the electrolyte. * 1957 – Pratt & Whitney's model 304 jet engine using liquid hydrogen as fuel tested for the first time as part of the
Lockheed CL-400 Suntan Suntan was the code-name of a prototype reconnaissance aircraft program, with the goal of creating a much faster and higher-altitude successor to the U-2, enabled by the use of liquid hydrogen (LH2) as aircraft fuel. The program was cancelled ...
project. * 1957 – The specifications for the U-2 a double axle liquid hydrogen semi-trailer were issued. * 1958 – Leonard Niedrach devised a way of depositing platinum onto the membrane, this became known as the Grubb-Niedrach fuel cell * 1958 –
Allis-Chalmers Allis-Chalmers was a U.S. manufacturer of machinery for various industries. Its business lines included agricultural equipment, construction equipment, power generation and power transmission equipment, and machinery for use in industrial sett ...
demonstrated the D 12, the first 15 kW fuel cell
tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most common ...
. * 1959 –
Francis Thomas Bacon Francis Thomas Bacon OBE FREng FRS (21 December 1904 – 24 May 1992) was an English engineer who in 1932 developed the first practical hydrogen–oxygen fuel cell. It is used to generate power for space capsules and satellites. Life and wo ...
built the Bacon Cell, the first practical 5 kW hydrogen-air fuel cell to power a welding machine. * 1960 –
Allis-Chalmers Allis-Chalmers was a U.S. manufacturer of machinery for various industries. Its business lines included agricultural equipment, construction equipment, power generation and power transmission equipment, and machinery for use in industrial sett ...
builds the first fuel cell forklift * 1961 –
RL-10 The RL10 is a liquid-fuel cryogenic rocket engine built in the United States by Aerojet Rocketdyne that burns cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants. Modern versions produce up to of thrust per engine in vacuum. Three RL10 ver ...
liquid hydrogen fuelled
rocket engine A rocket engine uses stored rocket propellants as the reaction mass for forming a high-speed propulsive jet of fluid, usually high-temperature gas. Rocket engines are reaction engines, producing thrust by ejecting mass rearward, in accordance ...
first flight * 1964 –
Allis-Chalmers Allis-Chalmers was a U.S. manufacturer of machinery for various industries. Its business lines included agricultural equipment, construction equipment, power generation and power transmission equipment, and machinery for use in industrial sett ...
built a 750-watt fuel cell to power a one-man underwater research vessel. * 1965 – The first commercial use of a fuel cell in
Project Gemini Project Gemini () was NASA's second human spaceflight program. Conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, Gemini started in 1961 and concluded in 1966. The Gemini spacecraft carried a two-astronaut crew. Ten Gemini crews and 16 individual ...
. * 1965 –
Allis-Chalmers Allis-Chalmers was a U.S. manufacturer of machinery for various industries. Its business lines included agricultural equipment, construction equipment, power generation and power transmission equipment, and machinery for use in industrial sett ...
builds the first fuel cell
golf cart A golf cart (alternatively known as a golf buggy or golf car) is a small motorized vehicle designed originally to carry two golfers and their golf clubs around a golf course with less effort than walking. Over time, variants were introduced ...
s. * 1966 –
General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and was the largest in the world for 77 years bef ...
presents Electrovan, the world's first fuel cell automobile. * 1966 –
Slush hydrogen Slush hydrogen is a combination of liquid hydrogen and solid hydrogen at the triple point with a lower temperature and a higher density than liquid hydrogen. It is commonly formed by repeating a freeze-thaw process. This is most easily done by bring ...
* 1966 –
J-2 (rocket engine) The J-2 is a liquid-fuel cryogenic rocket engine used on NASA's Saturn IB and Saturn V launch vehicles. Built in the U.S. by Rocketdyne, the J-2 burned cryogenic liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX) propellants, with each engine produ ...
liquid hydrogen rocket engine flies * 1967 –
Akira Fujishima is a Japanese chemist and president of Tokyo University of Science. He is known for significant contributions to the discovery and research of photocatalytic and superhydrophilic properties of titanium dioxide (TiO2), which is also known as th ...
discovers the Honda-Fujishima effect which is used for
photocatalysis In chemistry, photocatalysis is the acceleration of a photoreaction in the presence of a catalyst. In catalyzed photolysis, light is absorbed by an adsorbed substrate. In photogenerated catalysis, the photocatalytic activity depends on the abil ...
in the
photoelectrochemical cell A "photoelectrochemical cell" is one of two distinct classes of device. The first produces electrical energy similarly to a dye-sensitized photovoltaic cell, which meets the standard definition of a photovoltaic cell. The second is a photoelect ...
. * 1967 –
Hydride compressor A hydride compressor is a hydrogen compressor based on metal hydrides with absorption of hydrogen at low pressure, releasing heat, and desorption of hydrogen at high pressure, absorbing heat, by raising the temperature with an external heat source ...
* 1970 –
Nickel hydrogen battery Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to ...
* 1970 – John Bockris or Lawrence W. Jones coined the term ''
hydrogen economy The hydrogen economy is using hydrogen to decarbonize economic sectors which are hard to electrify, essentially, the "hard-to-abate" sectors such as cement, steel, long-haul transport etc. In order to phase out fossil fuels and limit climate ch ...
'' * 1973 – The 30 km hydrogen pipeline in Isbergues * 1973 –
Linear compressor A linear compressor is a gas compressor where the piston moves along a linear track to minimize friction and reduce energy loss during conversion of motion. This technology has been successfully used in cryogenic applications which must be oilless ...
* 1975 – John Bockris – Energy The Solar-Hydrogen Alternative – * 1979 –
HM7B The HM7B is a European cryogenic upper stage rocket engine used on the vehicles in the Ariane rocket family. It will be replaced by Vinci, which will act as the new upper stage engine on Ariane 6. Nearly 300 engines have been produced to date. ...
rocket engine * 1981 –
Space Shuttle Main Engine The Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-25, also known as the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME), is a liquid-fuel cryogenic rocket engine that was used on NASA's Space Shuttle and is currently used on the Space Launch System (SLS). Designed and manufactu ...
first flight * 1988 – First flight of
Tupolev Tu-155 The Tupolev Tu-155 is a modified Tupolev Tu-154 (СССР-85035) which was used as an alternative fuel testbed, and was the world's first experimental aircraft operating on hydrogen and later liquid natural gas. The similar Tu-156 was never buil ...
. This was a variant of the
Tu-154 The Tupolev Tu-154 (russian: Tyполев Ту-154; NATO reporting name: "Careless") is a three-engined, medium-range, narrow-body airliner designed in the mid-1960s and manufactured by Tupolev. A workhorse of Soviet and (subsequently) Russia ...
airliner designed to run on hydrogen. * 1990 – The first solar-powered hydrogen production plant Solar-Wasserstoff-Bayern became operational. * 1996 – Vulcain rocket engine * 1997 – Anastasios Melis discovered that the deprivation of
sulfur Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...
will cause
algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from u ...
to switch from producing oxygen to producing hydrogen * 1998 –
Type 212 submarine The German Type 212 class (German: U-Boot-Klasse 212 A), also Italian ''Todaro'' class, is a diesel-electric submarine developed by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG (HDW) for the German and Italian navies. It features diesel propulsion and an ...
* 1999 – Hydrogen pinch * 2000 – Peter Toennies demonstrates
superfluidity Superfluidity is the characteristic property of a fluid with zero viscosity which therefore flows without any loss of kinetic energy. When stirred, a superfluid forms vortices that continue to rotate indefinitely. Superfluidity occurs in two i ...
of hydrogen at 0.15 K


21st century

* 2001 – The first type IV
hydrogen tank A hydrogen tank (other names- cartridge or canister) is used for hydrogen storage. The first type IV hydrogen tanks for compressed hydrogen at were demonstrated in 2001, the first fuel cell vehicles on the road with type IV tanks are the Toyota ...
s for
compressed hydrogen Compressed hydrogen (CH2, CGH2 or CGH2) is the gaseous state of the element hydrogen kept under pressure. Compressed hydrogen in hydrogen tanks at 350 bar (5,000 psi) and 700 bar (10,000 psi) is used for mobile hydrogen storage in hydrogen veh ...
at 700 bar (10000 PSI) were demonstrated. * 2002 –
Type 214 submarine The Type 214 is a diesel-electric submarine developed by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH (HDW). It features diesel propulsion with an air-independent propulsion (AIP) system using Siemens polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) hydrogen fuel ce ...
* 2002 – The first
hydrail In transportation, hydrail is the generic term describing all forms of rail vehicles, large or small, which use on-board hydrogen fuel as a source of energy to power the traction motors, or the auxiliaries, or both. Hydrail vehicles use the chemic ...
locomotive was demonstrated in
Val-d'Or Val-d'Or (, , ; "Golden Valley" or "Valley of Gold") is a city in Quebec, Canada with a population of 32,752 inhabitants according to the Canada 2021 Census. The city is located in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region near La Vérendrye Wildlife ...
,
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen ...
. * 2004 – DeepC is an autonomous underwater vehicle propelled by an electric motor powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. * 2005 –
Ionic liquid piston compressor An ionic liquid piston compressor, ionic compressor or ionic liquid piston pump is a hydrogen compressor based on an ionic liquid piston instead of a metal piston as in a piston-metal diaphragm compressor. Principle An ionic liquid compressor ta ...
* 2013 – The first commercial 2 megawatt
power to gas Power-to-gas (often abbreviated P2G) is a technology that uses electric power to produce a gaseous fuel. When using surplus power from wind generation, the concept is sometimes called windgas. Most P2G systems use electrolysis to produce hydrogen ...
installation in Falkenhagen comes online for 360 cubic meters of hydrogen per hour
hydrogen storage Hydrogen storage can be accomplished by several existing methods of holding hydrogen for later use. These include mechanical approaches such as using high pressures and low temperatures, or employing chemical compounds that release H2 upon deman ...
into the natural gas grid. * 2014 – The Japanese fuel cell
micro combined heat and power Micro combined heat and power, micro-CHP, µCHP or mCHP is an extension of the idea of cogeneration to the single/multi family home or small office building in the range of up to 50 kW. Usual technologies for the production of heat and power in ...
(mCHP) ENE FARM project passes 100,000 sold systems. * 2016 –
Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
releases its first hydrogen fuel cell car, the Mirai * 2017 –
Hydrogen Council The World Hydrogen Council is a global CEO-led initiative of 132 leading energy, transport, industry and investment companies with a united and long-term vision to develop the hydrogen economy. The key ambitions of the Hydrogen Council are to 1) ...
formed to expedite development and commercialization of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies * 2019 – Researchers at the
KU Leuven KU Leuven (or Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Belgium. It conducts teaching, research, and services in computer science, engineering, natural sciences, theology, humanities, medicine, ...
university, Belgium, have developed a solar hydrogen panel that is able to
produce Produce is a generalized term for many farm-produced crops, including fruits and vegetables (grains, oats, etc. are also sometimes considered ''produce''). More specifically, the term ''produce'' often implies that the products are fresh and g ...
250l of H2 / d directly from
sunlight Sunlight is a portion of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun, in particular infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. On Earth, sunlight is scattered and filtered through Earth's atmosphere, and is obvious as daylight when th ...
and
water vapor (99.9839 °C) , - , Boiling point , , - , specific gas constant , 461.5 J/( kg·K) , - , Heat of vaporization , 2.27 MJ/kg , - , Heat capacity , 1.864 kJ/(kg·K) Water vapor, water vapour or aqueous vapor is the gaseous phase ...
utilizing phytocatalytic
water splitting Water splitting is the chemical reaction in which water is broken down into oxygen and hydrogen: :2 H2O → 2 H2 + O2 Efficient and economical water splitting would be a technological breakthrough that could underpin a hydrogen economy, base ...
and they are reporting a conversion efficiency of 15%. According to
IEEE Spectrum ''IEEE Spectrum'' is a magazine edited by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The first issue of ''IEEE Spectrum'' was published in January 1964 as a successor to ''Electrical Engineering''. The magazine contains peer-reviewe ...
this is a gain of +14,900% from the efficiency figure 10 years back (0.1%). * 2019 – Powerpaste, a
magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ...
and hydrogen-based fluid magnesium hydride paste, that releases hydrogen in a predictable manner when it reacts with
water Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...
was published. Powerpaste is developed and patented by the
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft The Fraunhofer Society (german: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V., lit=Fraunhofer Society for the Advancement of Applied Research) is a German research organization with 76institutes spread throughout Germany ...
. *2021 – Enapter, co-founded by Vaitea Cowan, was awarded the 2021 Earthshot Prize for the ‘Fix our Climate’ category for its AEM Electrolyser technology which turns renewable electricity into emission-free hydrogen gas. *2022 – Researchers in
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge becam ...
develop floating artificial leaves for light-driven
hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxi ...
production. The lightweight, flexible devices are scalable and can float on water similar to lotus leaves.


See also

* Timeline of sustainable energy research 2020–present * List of years in science ( in science)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Timeline Of Hydrogen Technologies
Hydrogen technologies Hydrogen technologies are technologies that relate to the production and use of hydrogen as a part hydrogen economy. Hydrogen technologies are applicable for many uses. Some hydrogen technologies are carbon neutral and could have a role in preve ...
*