'Major discovery' from MIT primed to unleash solar revolution

**ssrattus** · 04-08-08, 09:30 AM

I wonder if this is a "major discovery" that will actually lead to something useful?

'Major discovery' from MIT primed to unleash solar revolution - MIT News Office

Quote:

'Major discovery' from MIT primed to unleash solar revolution
Scientists mimic essence of plants' energy storage system

Anne Trafton, News Office
July 31, 2008

In a revolutionary leap that could transform solar power from a marginal, boutique alternative into a mainstream energy source, MIT researchers have overcome a major barrier to large-scale solar power: storing energy for use when the sun doesn't shine.

Daniel Nocera describes new process for storing solar energy
View video post on MIT TechTV Daniel Nocera describes new process for storing solar energy

Until now, solar power has been a daytime-only energy source, because storing extra solar energy for later use is prohibitively expensive and grossly inefficient. With today's announcement, MIT researchers have hit upon a simple, inexpensive, highly efficient process for storing solar energy.

Requiring nothing but abundant, non-toxic natural materials, this discovery could unlock the most potent, carbon-free energy source of all: the sun. "This is the nirvana of what we've been talking about for years," said MIT's Daniel Nocera, the Henry Dreyfus Professor of Energy at MIT and senior author of a paper describing the work in the July 31 issue of Science. "Solar power has always been a limited, far-off solution. Now we can seriously think about solar power as unlimited and soon."

Inspired by the photosynthesis performed by plants, Nocera and Matthew Kanan, a postdoctoral fellow in Nocera's lab, have developed an unprecedented process that will allow the sun's energy to be used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases. Later, the oxygen and hydrogen may be recombined inside a fuel cell, creating carbon-free electricity to power your house or your electric car, day or night.

The key component in Nocera and Kanan's new process is a new catalyst that produces oxygen gas from water; another catalyst produces valuable hydrogen gas. The new catalyst consists of cobalt metal, phosphate and an electrode, placed in water. When electricity -- whether from a photovoltaic cell, a wind turbine or any other source -- runs through the electrode, the cobalt and phosphate form a thin film on the electrode, and oxygen gas is produced.

Combined with another catalyst, such as platinum, that can produce hydrogen gas from water, the system can duplicate the water splitting reaction that occurs during photosynthesis.

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.

'Giant leap' for clean energy

Sunlight has the greatest potential of any power source to solve the world's energy problems, said Nocera. In one hour, enough sunlight strikes the Earth to provide the entire planet's energy needs for one year.

James Barber, a leader in the study of photosynthesis who was not involved in this research, called the discovery by Nocera and Kanan a "giant leap" toward generating clean, carbon-free energy on a massive scale.

"This is a major discovery with enormous implications for the future prosperity of humankind," said Barber, the Ernst Chain Professor of Biochemistry at Imperial College London. "The importance of their discovery cannot be overstated since it opens up the door for developing new technologies for energy production thus reducing our dependence for fossil fuels and addressing the global climate change problem."
'Just the beginning'

Currently available electrolyzers, which split water with electricity and are often used industrially, are not suited for 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.

More engineering work needs to be done to integrate the new scientific discovery into existing photovoltaic systems, but Nocera said he is confident that such systems will become a reality.

"This is just the beginning," said Nocera, principal investigator for the Solar Revolution Project funded by the Chesonis Family Foundation and co-director of the Eni-MIT Solar Frontiers Center. "The scientific community is really going to run with this."

Nocera hopes that within 10 years, homeowners will be able to power their homes in daylight through photovoltaic cells, while using excess solar energy to produce hydrogen and oxygen to power their own household fuel cell. Electricity-by-wire from a central source could be a thing of the past.

The project is part of the MIT Energy Initiative, a program designed to help transform the global energy system to meet the needs of the future and to help build a bridge to that future by improving today's energy systems. MITEI Director Ernest Moniz, Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems, noted that "this discovery in the Nocera lab demonstrates that moving up the transformation of our energy supply system to one based on renewables will depend heavily on frontier basic science."

The success of the Nocera lab shows the impact of a mixture of funding sources - governments, philanthropy, and industry. This project was funded by the National Science Foundation and by the Chesonis Family Foundation, which gave MIT $10 million this spring to launch the Solar Revolution Project, with a goal to make the large scale deployment of solar energy within 10 years.

**Onefella** · 05-08-08, 11:58 AM

A nice solution for storage. Except we need these great breakthrough ideas yesterday. I wonder how long it will take for the system to be available to everybody?

Yet pholtovoltaic cells themselves don't seem to be getting much cheaper to buy. There has been some efficiency gains over past decades, but nothing really groundbreaking. The 'sliver' cells from ANU/Origin looked promising, but I still can't see any on the shelves.

**anyone** · 10-09-08, 09:57 PM

Quote:

sun's energy to be used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases

sounds like electrolysis from solar, maybe new catalysts

**Artilect** · 11-09-08, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anyone

sounds like electrolysis from solar, maybe new catalysts

It is electrolysis but a more efficient type because of the catalysts Cobalt and Platinum, the platinum may be a little cost prohibitive though.
These might be the batteries of the future.
Though platinum has been used in hydrogen fuel cells for years so I don't think it is a new idea possibly a more efficient one, we will just have to wait and see what happens.

**trash** · 11-09-08, 07:30 PM

A photolytic reaction. yeah, Platinium is getting a little expensive.

I consider Solar cells to be relatively efficient. How many watts per square metre do we expect from sunlight at the earth's surface ?
~1200W/m^2 and off the shelf solar panels are about 10% efficient giving about 120W per square metre.

Compare that to coal at ~40%, it doesn't sound all that bad.

Solar panal prices have come down a lot too. In the 60's they were prohibitively expensive. I was reading an article on Oscar 5 which ran on batteries alone because they couldn't afford any solar cells for it. Less than $10 per watt currently.
Compare that to grid electricity.
$10,000 for a Solar Kilowatt and about 20 cents for a Coal Kilowatt !

Oh ok.... I'll do it in kilowatt hours ! The Coal kilowatt is 1kWh.
The Solar panels have a 20 year warranty.
So that's $5000 per kilowatt-decade.
$500 per kilowatt year
$1.40 per kilowatt day
But there is only about 8 hours in a solar day. Which works out to be about $17 cents per Solar kilowatt hour.

But ecconomics and availability make the difference.

Off peak power is cheaper too. But you don't get to choose when you use it.

Want the big money? Find some way of storing large amounts of power that can also deliver large amounts of power quickly.

**anyone** · 11-09-08, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Want the big money? Find some way of storing large amounts of power that can also deliver large amounts of power quickly.

oh yeah we all love money, magnets?

**trash** · 12-09-08, 07:33 PM

I also like chocolate. It also happens to be a good way to store energy.
But money is waaaaay ahead of whatever is in second place !

Money can buy everything. If it can't you don't know where to shop, or you don't have enough of it !

**porkop** · 13-09-08, 09:21 AM

whats the carbon footprint in the manufacture of solar panels??

**trash** · 13-09-08, 08:38 PM

Big I hope !
Imagine the carbon tax those things will attract if thats the case.

It's probably time I worked it out.
I saved a bit of time and wikipedia had something to say..

Quote:

[edit] Energy Payback Time and Energy Returned on Energy Invested
The energy payback time is the time required to produce an amount of energy as great as what was consumed during production. The energy payback time is determined from a life cycle analysis of energy.

Another key indicator of environmental performance, tightly related to the energy payback time, is the ratio of electricity generated divided by the energy required to build and maintain the equipment. This ratio is called the energy returned on energy invested (EROEI). Of course, little is gained if it takes as much energy to produce the modules as they produce in their lifetimes. This should not be confused with the economic return on investment, which varies according to local energy prices, subsidies available and metering techniques.

Life-cycle analyses show that the energy intensity of typical solar photovoltaic technologies is rapidly evolving. In 2000 the energy payback time was estimated as 8 to 11 years[75], but more recent studies suggest that technological progress has reduced this to 1.5 to 3.5 years for crystalline silicon PV systems [74].

Thin film technologies now have energy pay-back times in the range of 1-1.5 years (S.Europe).[74] With lifetimes of such systems of at least 30 years, the EROEI is in the range of 10 to 30. They thus generate enough energy over their lifetimes to reproduce themselves many times (6-31 reproductions, the EROEI is a bit lower) depending on what type of material, balance of system (or BOS), and the geographic location of the system.[76]

**nomeat** · 14-09-08, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trash

Want the big money? Find some way of storing large amounts of power that can also deliver large amounts of power quickly.

Here is the big money and IMO should create a revolution:
EEStor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Then there is no excuse NOT to produce and drive around in EVs anymore.

**stalin12** · 15-09-08, 05:31 AM

can produce hydrogen gas from water, the system can duplicate the water splitting reaction

15-09-08, 05:31 AM	#11 (permalink)
stalin12 Junior Member iTrader: (0) Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 3 Spent time on board: 0:04:33	can produce hydrogen gas from water, the system can duplicate the water splitting reaction __________________ online photography classes sports betting

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05-08-08, 11:58 AM	#2 (permalink)
Onefella Country Member iTrader: (1) Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Top End Posts: 113 Spent time on board: 3 Days and 22:22:48	A nice solution for storage. Except we need these great breakthrough ideas yesterday. I wonder how long it will take for the system to be available to everybody? Yet pholtovoltaic cells themselves don't seem to be getting much cheaper to buy. There has been some efficiency gains over past decades, but nothing really groundbreaking. The 'sliver' cells from ANU/Origin looked promising, but I still can't see any on the shelves.

11-09-08, 07:30 PM	#5 (permalink)
trash Senior Member iTrader: (0) Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 346 Spent time on board: 2 Days and 19:58:29	A photolytic reaction. yeah, Platinium is getting a little expensive. I consider Solar cells to be relatively efficient. How many watts per square metre do we expect from sunlight at the earth's surface ? ~1200W/m^2 and off the shelf solar panels are about 10% efficient giving about 120W per square metre. Compare that to coal at ~40%, it doesn't sound all that bad. Solar panal prices have come down a lot too. In the 60's they were prohibitively expensive. I was reading an article on Oscar 5 which ran on batteries alone because they couldn't afford any solar cells for it. Less than $10 per watt currently. Compare that to grid electricity. $10,000 for a Solar Kilowatt and about 20 cents for a Coal Kilowatt ! Oh ok.... I'll do it in kilowatt hours ! The Coal kilowatt is 1kWh. The Solar panels have a 20 year warranty. So that's $5000 per kilowatt-decade. $500 per kilowatt year $1.40 per kilowatt day But there is only about 8 hours in a solar day. Which works out to be about $17 cents per Solar kilowatt hour. But ecconomics and availability make the difference. Off peak power is cheaper too. But you don't get to choose when you use it. Want the big money? Find some way of storing large amounts of power that can also deliver large amounts of power quickly.

12-09-08, 07:33 PM	#7 (permalink)
trash Senior Member iTrader: (0) Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 346 Spent time on board: 2 Days and 19:58:29	I also like chocolate. It also happens to be a good way to store energy. But money is waaaaay ahead of whatever is in second place ! Money can buy everything. If it can't you don't know where to shop, or you don't have enough of it !

13-09-08, 09:21 AM	#8 (permalink)
porkop Premium Member iTrader: (2) Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 450	whats the carbon footprint in the manufacture of solar panels??

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