In meteorological applications, hydrogen is being used as a lift gas for balloons when helium is unavailable or prohibitively expensive.

This new technology, developed by the Centre for Energy Research, Spic Science Foundation, is said to be more sophisticated and safe than the conventional chemical method, which is relatively crude and hazardous.

The project is being supported by Technology Information Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) and the Union Department of Science and Technology (DST).

The Polymer Electrolyte Membrane-based hydrogen generator breaks down water into hydrogen and oxygen, and hydrogen is separated by a polymer membrane.

‘‘This membrane is selective and permits only hydrogen to pass through,’’ said TIFAC principal scientific officer P R Basak who is here to see the smooth conduct of the field trial.

‘‘If the trials are successful, we will transfer the technology to a commercial establishment,’’ he said.

The hydrogen thus generated from water is being used by the Meteorological Department to inflate balloons, which are used for monitoring wind, weather and other atmospheric parameters. The hydrogen generation system uses only electricity and water to generate hydrogen.

‘‘The generator can even be redesigned to run on solar energy,’’ said Kerala Science Council for Science Technology and Environment director K R S Krishnan. ‘‘This will make hydrogen a clean green competitor to oil,’’ he said.

‘‘The PEM-based generator will, however, have to be scaled up to be of more practical use to the Meteorological Department,’’ said director K Santhosh.

‘‘It now takes six-eight hours to inflate large balloons and we don’t have so much time to spare,’’ he said.

These generators, can be an alternative to the traditional cannon-like hydrogen generators.