Catalyst for Generating HydrogenA metal catalyst for generating hydrogen has been discovered by researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California, Berkeley. You Have Much More Exciting Hydrogen Story Than This? "molecular molybdenum-oxo" is a metallic version of the hydrogenases, an enzyme use by plants during photosynthesis. Hydrogenases enzymes are highly unstable when extracted from its natural environment, so researchers pursued towards the discovery of the molecular molybdenum-oxo. Researchers said, "Our catalyst does not require organic additives, and can operate in neutral water, even if it is dirty, and can operate in sea water, the most abundant source of hydrogen on earth and a natural electrolyte. These qualities make our catalyst ideal for renewable energy and sustainable chemistry." "The basic scientific challenge has been to create earth-abundant molecular systems that produce hydrogen from water with high catalytic activity and stability," "Although metal catalysts are commercially available, it is very expensive thus limits its widespread use. Platinum for example, which is considered as the best, costs around $2,000 an ounce Platinum is use as catalyst to crack hydrogen from water: 
Sample image of metal catalyst. The lead of a pencil is one of them... 
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