Water electrolysis processes

William Nicholson (1753-1813), an English chemist, is credited with inventing the electrolysis of water (1800). After reading Volta's work on electric batteries, he built and tested a battery of his own, and fortuitously discovered that by immersing the ends of electrical conductors in water, the water was broken down into molecular hydrogen and oxygen. With this discovery, Nicholson became the first man whose name has gone down in history to carry out a chemical reaction using electricity. Water electrolysis developed industrially during the 20th century, in locations where hydroelectric power resources were abundant.