Mexican researchers are developing a system to produce hydrogen from solar energy, gasification of biomass and plastic waste. The process, which functions in the laboratory, promises to be a large-scale alternative for producing energy and processing contaminants, Hernando Romero, an energy resource engineer at the Metropolitan Autonomous University of Mexico (UAM), told Tierramérica.

With expert support from France, Germany, Spain and Switzerland, the UAM scientists are generating hydrogen through solar thermo-chemical methods that gasify the waste.

Hydrogen, which is already being used in engines and in industrial processes, is considered a clean energy source because it provides more energy per weight than any other fuel and it doesn't produce toxic emissions. However, obtaining the gas is relatively expensive and complicated.