46th International Workshop on High Energy Density Physics with Intense Ion and Laser Beams

Hydrogen is becoming an increasingly important energy carrier in the context of sustainable energy systems. Consequently, there is strong interest in developing methods for hydrogen production that are both environmentally benign and energy efficient. Established production routes either rely on fossil fuels with significant CO₂ emissions or suffer from comparatively low overall efficiencies.
One promising alternative is methane plasmalysis, in which methane is decomposed into hydrogen and solid carbon using a plasma. In previous work, methane plasmalysis using micro hollow cathode (MHC) discharges was investigated over a range of pressures, yielding promising peak energy efficiencies of up to approximately 9%.
Building on these results, the present work aims to further optimize hydrogen production using micro hollow cathodes and to extend the investigation to additional plasma sources. In particular, dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasmas and hollow cathode discharges at lower pressures are studied to enable a systematic comparison of different plasma configurations with respect to their suitability for efficient hydrogen generation.