[alexander_busek]

The relevant physics question is whether eight hydrogen atoms have less energy than one oxygen atom. If so, then converting one oxygen atom into eight hydrogen atoms will release energy — if it can be done. SHT (bad name for a company) claims it can.

Fissioning (splitting) atoms heavier than Lead (Pb) yields energy.

Fusioning (combining) atoms lighter than Lead yields energy.

Fissioning atoms lighter than Lead consumes energy.

Fusioning atoms heavier than Lead consumes energy.

That's why the Sun releases (rather than consumes) energy: It fusions Hydrogen into Helium.

That's why "Little Boy" (the Hiroshima bomb) and "Fat Man" (the Nagasaki bomb) released energy: They fissioned Uranium or, respectively, Plutonium (which both have Atomic Numbers greater than that of Lead).

So, to answer you question: Fissioning Oxygen into Hydrogen consumes energy.

Regards,

[FredZarguna]

Fissioning atoms lighter than Lead consumes energy.
Fusioning atoms heavier than Lead consumes energy.

Not quite true, as the graph below shows. While Lead is the "stable" endpoint of a large number of decay chains involving heavy isotopes, the atomic number of lead (Z=82) is WAY too high for the claim your making; the nuclear force is not stabilizing enough to overcome the repulsion of that many protons.

Fission of Lead produces energy, IF you can find a favorable nuclear reaction kinetics to produce it. The chart below shows the break-even point, which is all the way down at the where the derivative of the binding energy per nucleon goes to zero, at Iron (Z=26.)

The corrected statement is:

Fissioning atoms lighter than Iron consumes energy.
Fusioning atoms heavier than Iron consumes energy.