It would appear that Dan Nocera of MIT has discovered a simple, inexpensive way to extract hydrogen from water, as described in this video:

Dan Nocera: Personalized Energy

MIT Professor Dan Nocera believes he can solve the world’s energy problems with an Olympic-sized pool of water. Nocera and his research team have identified a simple technique for powering the Earth inexpensively – by using the sun to split water and store energy – making the large-scale deployment of personalized solar energy possible.

Here are two shorter videos that also explain the basics:

Nocera’s team figured out how to dramatically reduce the amount of energy needed [for electrolysis], and to do it with cheap, abundant materials like cobalt and phosphate.

Daniel Nocera describes new process for storing solar energy

The key feature of this invention is the ability to store solar energy for use when the sun goes down, or for use in a hydrogen-powered car.

Two problems remain: 1) bringing the cost of solar power down and 2) storing the hydrogen.

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