Plant Photosynthesis Leads to Cheap Storage of Solar Energy

The amount of sunlight that strikes the Earth in one hour supplies the entire planets energy needs for one year. Current technology to store excess carbon-free electricity during the day, to be used during heavily overcast days and at night, is too cost prohibitive and grossly inefficient to realize its full potential as a cheap, reliable, renewable energy source.

Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have devised a simple method that will overcome both the high cost and the inefficiency of current solar electrical storage. They can now mimic plant photosynthesis to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen and then recombine them inside a fuel cell, creating carbon-free electricity to power your house or your electric car, day or night.
(Photo credit: MIT/NSF; the new, efficient oxygen catalyst in action in Dan Nocera's laboratory at MIT.)

Daniel Nocera Matthew Kanan were inspired by plant photosynthesis to use a catalyst consisting of cobalt metal, phosphate and an electrode to produce oxygen gas from water, another catalyst produces hydrogen gas. Electricity, whether produced from a photovoltaic cell, a wind turbine or any other source, runs through the electrode resulting in oxygen gas. Another catalyst, using platinum, can produce hydrogen from water.

The new catalyst works at room temperature, in neutral pH water, and it's easy to set up, Nocera said. "That's why I know this is going to work. It's so easy to implement," he said.

Electrolyzers currently in use by industry are not suited to artificial photosynthesis because they are very expensive and require a highly basic (non-benign) environment that has little to do with the conditions under which photosynthesis operates.

This new discovery, along with solar panels as thin as paint for homes and cars, and with nano flakes revolutionizing the transformation of solar energy to electricity, will greatly reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and address global climate change. The biggest obstacle remaining is the government in legislating the switch-over from electricity-by-wire from a central source and big oil, who will not want to see the loss of income to their already abundantly over-flowing coffers. For individual home owners, the future is indeed looking brighter.


Further reading:
Home Windows Could Cut Carbon Emissions in Half

Cheap New Solar Panels

Nanosolar Powersheet That Could Change the World

Cheap, Green Solar Panels

Body heat to charge cell phones?

Now this is something I can get into. How many of us carry our cell phones in our pockets instead of those pretentious little ‘holsters’?

Berkeley Labs is researching the ability to convert our body heat into electricity, via silicon nanowire-based converters. The new found electricity could power personal electronics, such as your cell phone or iPod.

The research has been published in Nature magazine.

While the research has not been perfected, scientists believe the potential application of this technology include Department of Energy’s hydrogen fuel cell-powered “Freedom CAR,” and personal power-jackets that could use body heat to recharge cell-phones and other electronic devices.

This process could be used to siphon electrical power from just about any situation in which heat is being given off. Thermoelectric generators have already been used to convert body heat to power wrist watches.

Conversion modules could be used to convert the heat from automotive exhaust into supplemental power to recharge its battery system or its radio, air conditioner and power windows.

Researchers also believe that thermoelectric modules could eventually be used in co-generating power with gas or steam turbines.