“Cannot be explained” – New ultra stainless steel stuns researchers
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Researchers at the University of Hong Kong have developed SS-H2, a new stainless steel alloy designed for seawater electrolysis in green hydrogen production. Unlike conventional stainless steel, which fails at the high voltages required for water oxidation due to chromium oxide breakdown, SS-H2 employs a 'sequential dual-passivation' strategy: a standard chromium oxide layer is supplemented by a second manganese-based protective layer that forms at ~720 mV, extending corrosion resistance up to 1700 mV. This is counterintuitive since manganese is traditionally considered harmful to stainless steel corrosion resistance. The material performs comparably to expensive titanium-based components used in current industrial electrolyzers, potentially reducing structural material costs by ~40x. Tons of SS-H2 wire have already been produced in collaboration with a Chinese factory, and patents have been granted in multiple countries.
