Lead researcher, Dr Kabelo Ramohlola, at his graduation ceremony to receive his PhD. Image: Shelley Christians/UWCScientists at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) have developed new low-cost materials that could make it easier and cheaper to produce green hydrogen, a clean fuel seen as key to cutting carbon emissions in the future.
Hydrogen (H2), which is produced by using renewable energy sources (green H2) and electricity (yellow H2) to split water, is seen as a highly efficient clean energy carrier to utilise in both stationary and mobile applications such as fuel cell powered heavy-duty vehicles.
Unlike fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas that release carbon emissions that pollute the environment, hydrogen has zero emissions, and when it burns to create electricity the only byproduct is water that can be collected and reused in the electrolytic system to produce more hydrogen gas.
But producing hydrogen in an electrolytic system is considered expensive because the energy-generation process depends on rare and costly metals like platinum, which makes large-scale production difficult.
Finding cheaper and more widely available alternatives is therefore critical. In new research that has been published in the Journal of Applied Electrochemistry, a team of researchers from UWC’s SensorLab, with collaborators from the University of Limpopo, University of Cape Town, and Tshwane University of Technology, combined affordable common materials such as plastic (polymer) to create a new compound (known as an electrocatalyst) that speeds up the production of hydrogen in an energy-efficient way.
Dr Kabelo Ramohlola. Image: Shelley Christians/UWCThrough a chemical process, the team combined molybdenum disulphide (MoS2), HKUST-1 metal organic framework (often used in batteries and electronics), and polyaniline (a plastic-like material that conducts electricity) to make the platinum group metal-free electrocatalyst.
Tests confirmed that the materials were successfully bonded and were able to conduct electricity well. Researchers say this is the first time these compounds have been successfully integrated, demonstrating a strong alternative to the costly metal catalysts that are currently used to produce hydrogen.
In similar research published in the Discover Materials journal, scientists from the SensorLab also investigated how polyaniline and altered versions of this plastic material performed in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) - a chemical process that is regarded as key in hydrogen production - that turns water into hydrogen fuel. Led by Dr Kabelo Ramohlola, who did the research as part of his PhD (supervised by Prof Emmanuel Iwuoha, and co-supervised by Dr Miranda Ndipingwi and Prof Kwena Modibane from the University of Limpopo), researchers used various lab techniques to study the structure and properties of these materials.
The results showed that all the plastic materials kept the same basic structure and were not damaged during the modification process, suggesting it could be practical for real-world applications. One material, copolymer (integrated with HKUST-1 and MoS2 in particular), stood out and produced hydrogen more easily and worked faster than standard plastic materials.
Overall, Dr Ramohlola’s PhD produced two research articles and one review article, and he presented his research in various national conferences.
Dr Ramohlola, who currently works as a Senior Laboratory Assistant at the University of Limpopo, said the latest findings are significant for South Africa (which is known as a leading producer of platinum group metals (PGM), also known as "green metals") and crucial for clean energy. He said that given the high cost of producing hydrogen using these metals, which is about five times more than producing grey hydrogen that is made from steam reforming of natural gas, it is not sustainable.
“Production of low-cost cathode materials for hydrogen production is therefore crucial, as it aims at reducing the overall cost and [improving the] sustainability of the technology beyond the depletion of PGMs,” he said. “Research in hydrogen energy and hydrogen production in particular is of great importance for a sustainable future as it aims to create a clean, abundant energy carrier that can replace fossil fuels, decarbonise heavy industries, power transport, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions ultimately leading to energy independence and a low-carbon economy.”
Dr Ramohlola is among the newest graduates from the SensorLab, one of South Africa’s leading research centres. The lab is renowned for developing cutting-edge technological innovations focused on health, energy and catalysis. In December 2025 the lab celebrated producing over 100 PhD graduates.
Achieving this milestone was not easy for Dr Ramohlola, who hails from Sekgosese Village in Roerfontein, Limpopo. After losing his father during his first year at university, his hope waned, but thanks to the support of his mother and his grandmother, he successfully completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Limpopo.
“In 2011, at the start of the second semester during my first year, I lost my dad, who was the pillar of our family,” he said. “From then on, we had to survive on my mother’s salary as a domestic worker and my grandmother’s social grant.”
As the first child in his family to attend university, Dr Ramohlola said his father’s passing motivated him to work even harder. A bursary from the Greater Letaba Municipality, which covered his tuition accommodation, books and meals, helped ease the financial strain. “That support removed much of the burden from my shoulders and allowed me to focus fully on my studies,” he said.
Dr Ramohlola described being part of SensorLab’s milestone of surpassing 100 PhD graduates as a remarkable achievement that highlights the laboratory’s strong research output and its success in training the next generation of scientists.
“I am very much grateful to be part of this achievement and for being one of the graduates who made it possible for the laboratory to be counted as one of the best,” he said.
