Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Ewha Womans University in South Korea developed a process to convert mixed plastic waste into hydrogen fuel.

This development provides a potential solution for hard-to-recycle plastics that typically end up in landfills or oceans. By bypassing the need for sorting, the method reduces the cost and energy associated with traditional recycling and fuel production.

The team said the research was announced July 29, 2026 [3]. The method, known as alkaline thermal treatment (ATT), converts unsorted plastic waste directly into high-purity hydrogen fuel. Unlike many thermal processes that release greenhouse gases, this system captures most of the carbon in solid or liquid form.

Efficiency is a primary focus of the new technology. The process operates at relatively low temperatures of approximately 300 °C [2] — a significant reduction compared to traditional gasification methods. This lower temperature requirement helps reduce the overall energy footprint of the conversion process.

Collaborative efforts took place across laboratories in Los Angeles and Seoul. The goal was to create a low-cost route for transforming plastic waste into clean energy while mitigating the environmental impact of plastic-related carbon emissions.

To move the technology toward commercial application, funding of £850,000 has been raised to expand modular waste-to-hydrogen plants [1]. These modular units are designed to be scalable, allowing for deployment in various industrial settings where plastic waste is concentrated.

The research represents a shift toward circular chemistry. By treating mixed plastics as a feedstock rather than a pollutant, the researchers said they aim to incentivize the collection of waste that was previously considered non-recyclable.

“The method, known as alkaline thermal treatment (ATT), converts unsorted plastic waste directly into high-purity hydrogen fuel.”

The ability to process unsorted plastics removes one of the largest economic barriers to chemical recycling: the high cost of manual or mechanical sorting. If the modular plants can be scaled efficiently, this technology could transform plastic waste from a liability into a profitable resource for the hydrogen economy, potentially reducing the global reliance on steam methane reforming for hydrogen production.