“Basically, we use the same microbial fuel cell we developed to clean waste water and produce electricity,” said project lead scientist Bruce Logan.

"However, to produce hydrogen, we keep oxygen out of the microbial fuel cell and add a small amount of power into the system.”

Research has shown that bacterial fermentation processes can produce only a limited amount of hydrogen from converting carbohydrate biomass and produce unwanted by-products such as acetic and butyric acids.

But by adding a small electrical charge, the process will produce up to four times as much hydrogen and can theoretically be used on any biodegradable, dissolvable organic matter.

Although at an early stage, the researchers are confident the process will open new means for producing hydrogen from renewable sources.