Radiant energy (7) is used in conjunction with a boron phosphide semiconducting electrode (2) to at least partially power an electrolytic cell (1) in the generation of hydrogen (8), utilizing a bromide, preferably hydrogen bromide, as the essential electrolyte component in the electrolytic cell. This solves overvoltage and corrosion, problems associated with the use of conventional electrolyte (5) results in the broadening of the selection of semiconductor electrodes which can be used in the process and apparatus of the present invention enabling the boron phosphide semiconducting electrode to produce superior anticorrosive and radiant energy gathering results over conventional systems. The boron phosphide semiconductors (2, 3) can be either boron phosphide alone or multilayered structures with other semiconducting material. The hydrogen generated from such systems can be used to power a fuel cell.