Power2Hype is developing an electrochemical route for decentralised hydrogen peroxide production, using water, oxygen from air, and renewable electricity as the main inputs.
The four-year EU-funded research and innovation action, launched in 2023, brings together 13 partners from several European countries. Coordinated by the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB, the project is targeting a cleaner alternative to the conventional Anthraquinone Oxidation process.
Hydrogen peroxide is used across industrial synthesis, disinfection, water treatment, bleaching, pulp and paper, textiles, pharmaceuticals, and environmental remediation. Current production is largely centralised, energy-intensive, and dependent on organic solvents, with concentrated H₂O₂ then transported over long distances before use.
Power2Hype’s process produces H₂O₂ on demand through paired electrolysis, with both electrodes in a single electrochemical cell generating hydrogen peroxide. The cathode uses oxygen reduction, while the anode uses water oxidation, creating a dual-production mechanism inside the same cell architecture.
Generating product at both electrodes is intended to improve efficiency compared with electrochemical systems that rely on a single production pathway. The approach also reduces dependence on large central plants and long-distance logistics, which can add cost, complexity, and handling risk when hydrogen peroxide is required at industrial sites.
The project combines metal-free carbon-based catalysts for selective oxygen reduction, boron-doped diamond anodes to suppress competing side reactions, specialised gas diffusion layers, and a dual-membrane configuration that moves produced H₂O₂ away from the reaction site to limit decomposition.
“The project aims to establish a clean and economically viable electrochemical process, enabling safe and decentralised hydrogen peroxide production,” said Luciana Vieira, Power2Hype’s Coordinator and Senior Scientist at Fraunhofer IGB. “Hydrogen peroxide is widely used across sectors such as water treatment, pulp and paper, textiles, pharmaceuticals, and environmental remediation. By enabling decentralised production, Power2Hype contributes to safer supply chains, reduced emissions, and increased industrial autonomy in line with European sustainability objectives.”
A downstream processing unit is being integrated to concentrate the hydrogen peroxide produced in the electrochemical cell, which is necessary for the system to reach industrially relevant product concentrations. The consortium is also developing continuous-flow cells and multi-cell stacks as the basis for a future pilot-scale demonstrator.
