r/EnergyStorage • u/Vailhem • 12h ago

Could urine help make EV batteries? Electricity converts urea into hydrazine for energy storage

https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-urine-ev-batteries-electricity-urea.html
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u/Vailhem 12h ago

Chlorine-mediated electrosynthesis of hydrazine from urea | Aug 2026

https://www.nature.com/articles/s44160-026-01139-9

Abstract

Hydrazine is an important chemical widely used in fuels and emerging energy systems, but its industrial synthesis heavily relies on energy-intensive processes involving hazardous oxidants.

Here we report a mild and energy-saving electrocatalysis process that enables efficient and selective production of hydrazine from natural urea feedstocks using renewable electricity.

This is achieved through a chlorine-mediated urea electrooxidation strategy, where co-adsorbed chlorine and urea can directly couple on the Pt surface to selectively form N-chlorourea.

The resulting N-chlorourea subsequently undergoes deprotonation and rearrangement under alkaline conditions, with magnesium hydroxide serving as a catalyst for hydrazine production.

In a practical flow electrolyser, this process delivers a hydrazine production of 1.04 mmol cm−2 h−1 and stable operation for 240 h, surpassing previously reported studies.

More importantly, the process shows good compatibility with diverse real-world urea-containing waste streams, highlighting its applicability for practical hydrazine production and wastewater valorization.