Ph.D. candidate searching for a more sustainable way to make hydrogen

Molly Vitale-Sullivan moved to Minnesota specifically to learn from renewable energy experts

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (02/03/2026) — Is it possible to split water using less energy? Ph.D. candidate Molly Vitale-Sullivan thinks so. 

Water electrolysis is an electrochemical process where water molecules are split into oxygen and hydrogen. The process involves applying a voltage between two electrodes (an anode and cathode) to oxidize water to oxygen at the anode and reduce water to hydrogen at the cathode.

Sounds simple, but the oxidation reaction is inefficient, which limits the overall process. To do this efficiently, researchers need what's called an electro-catalyst to lower the energy barrier for the oxidation reaction.

That's where Vitale-Sullivan, a graduate student in the University of Minnesota Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science (CEMS), comes in. She's studying the metal oxides used to make the anode electro-catalyst. Vitale-Sullivan's goal is to find an electro-catalyst that uses less energy to reduce our overall carbon footprint of large-scale hydrogen production.

Hydrogen is a key commodity chemical and fuel used in a wide variety of applications. Water electrolysis, powered by by renewable electricity, has zero carbon emissions. 

“The work to find the right catalyst is very exciting,” said Vitale-Sullivan, who received the First-Year Graduate Student Fellowship from CEMS. “I have to really understand a material’s properties to be able to scale it for industrial use. Knowing that my research has some tangible application is very fulfilling.”

Vitale-Sullivan’s journey to Minnesota started in the northwest. She packed up her bags when Kelsey Stoerzinger, then her advisor at Oregon State University, accepted an offer to join the University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering faculty.

"By coming here, I was choosing to continue the exciting science I started in Dr. Stoerzinger’s research group in Oregon," Vitale-Sullivan said. "We were already collaborating with groups here, even before we moved to the U of M."

Learn more about Molly’s research in the video below. 

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Story by Henry Stafford.