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[Due to the increasing size of the archives, each topic page now contains only the prior 365 days of content. Access to older stories is now solely through the Monthly Archive pages or the site search function.]
Mitsubishi and Partners Develop Highly Integrated Organic Photovoltaics Module
June 21, 2009
| Structure of the OPV. Source: Mitsubishi Corporation. Click to enlarge. |
Mitsubishi Cooperation (MC), the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and Tokki Corporation have developed a new, highly-integrated Organic Photovoltaics (OPV) module.
Like silicone PVs, OPVs employ a P-N diode junction as a generating active layer. The biggest challenge over some 30 plus years of R&D has been raising the low power output of PVs. In January, 2005, AIST achieved 4.0% light exchange efficiency with the introduction of a bulk-hetero junction (i-layer). At the time, this was the highest efficiency rate that had ever been achieved.
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Researchers Propose Solar-Driven Biomass Gasification Pathway for Synthetic Fuel Production
May 01, 2009
| Schema of synfuel synthesis through solar-driven biomass gasification. Solar energy produces both heat for gasification and H2 via electrolysis. From Hertwich et al. (2009) Click to enlarge. |
Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) are proposing a new process for producing synfuel from biomass using concentrating solar energy as its main energy source.
High temperature heat for biomass gasification is obtained from a molten-salt system in a solar concentrating tower. Hydrogen for reverse water gas shift reaction to avoid producing CO2 during the process is produced by electrolyzing water, driven by solar power.
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New Nano-sized Photocatalyst for Artificial Photosynthesis; Step Toward Production of Carbon-Neutral Transportation Fuels
March 13, 2009
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| Under the fuel through artificial photosynthesis scenario, nanotubes embedded within a membrane would act like green leaves, using incident solar radiation (Hν) to split water molecules (H2O), freeing up electrons and oxygen (O2) that then react with carbon dioxide (CO2) to produce a fuel, shown here as methanol (CH3OH). Credit: Flavio Robles, Berkeley Lab Public Affairs. Click to enlarge. |
Artificial photosynthesis for the production of liquid fuels is a potential source for renewable and carbon-neutral of transportation energy. The basic concept is to integrate light-harvesting systems that can capture solar photons and catalytic systems that can oxidize water, then to combine this water oxidation half reaction with a carbon dioxide reduction step in an artificial-leaf type system to produce a liquid hydrocarbon, such as methanol (CH3OH), that can be stored, transported, and used for transportation or other applications.
Researchers with the US Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have now found that nano-sized crystals of cobalt oxide can effectively carry out the critical photosynthetic reaction of splitting water molecules. Heinz Frei, a chemist with Berkeley Lab’s Physical Biosciences Division, and his postdoctoral fellow Feng Jiao reported the results of their study in the journal Angewandte Chemie, in a paper entitled: “Nanostructured Cobalt Oxide Clusters in Mesoporous Silica as Efficient Oxygen-Evolving Catalysts.”
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Researchers Develop Method for Higher-Rate Solar Photocatalytic Conversion of CO2 and Water Vapor to Hydrocarbon Fuels
January 28, 2009
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| Product generation rates from a nitrogen-doped nanotube array film surface-loaded with both Pt and Cu catalysts. Credit: ACS. Click to enlarge. |
Researchers at Penn State have developed a method for the more efficient solar conversion of carbon dioxide and water vapor to methane and other hydrocarbons using nitrogen-doped titania nanotube arrays. The arrays feature a wall thickness low enough to facilitate effective carrier transfer to the adsorbing species, and are surface-loaded with nanodimensional islands of co-catalysts platinum (Pt) and/or copper (Cu).
A paper on their work was published online 27 January in the ACS journal Nano Letters.
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Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Set New Efficiency Benchmark with Low-Volatility and Solvent-Free Electrolyte
October 29, 2008
Researchers in China and Switzerland are reporting efficiencies as high as 10% from new practical dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs, or Grätzel cells) with low volatility and solvent-free electrolyte. In addition to the higher efficiencies, the new cells also showed greater stability at high temperatures than previous formulas, retaining more than 90% of their initial output after 1,000 hours in full sunlight at 60°C. Their study is scheduled for the 13 November issue of ACS’ The Journal of Physical Chemistry C.
The research, conducted by Dr. Peng Wang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and colleagues—including Dr. Michaël Grätzel, inventor of the first dye-sensitized solar cell—involves photovoltaic cells composed of titanium dioxide and a new type of ruthenium-based dye that helps boost the light-harvesting ability.
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Researchers Develop Bio-Inspired Photo-Oxidizing Catalyst for Solar Water-Splitting to Produce Hydrogen
August 17, 2008
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| A manganese-oxo complex catalyzes the electro-oxidation of water when suspended within the aqueous channels of a Nafion membrane. Click to enlarge. |
An Australian-US research team led by Monash University has developed a bio-inspired water photo-oxidizing catalyst for the splitting of water into oxygen and hydrogen using solar energy. A paper on their work is published online in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition.
Professor Leone Spiccia, Robin Brimblecombe and Dr Annette Koo from Monash University teamed with Dr Gerhard Swiegers at the CSIRO Division of Molecular Science, Melbourne and Professor Charles Dismukes at Princeton University to develop a system that uses an anode coated with Nafion impregnated with a manganese-oxo complex with a cubic {Mn4O4}7+ core.
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DOE to Invest up to $24M to Advance Integration of Solar Energy Systems; Plug-in Project Included
August 12, 2008
The US Department of Energy (DOE) will invest up to $24 million in Fiscal Year 2008 and beyond—subject to the availability of funds—to develop solar energy products to significantly accelerate penetration of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in the United States.
The Solar Energy Grid Integration Systems (SEGIS) funding opportunity was announced on 15 November 2007. The projects selected for negotiation of awards focus on collaborative research and development by US industry teams to develop products that will allow PV to become a more integral part of household and commercial smart energy systems. One team, lead by VPT Inc., is developing products that facilitate interaction between solar energy systems and plug-in hybrid vehicles, to provide a secure back-up power source during outages.
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Researchers at MIT Develop New Water-Splitting Catalyst That Works Under Benign Conditions; a “Giant Leap”
July 31, 2008
Researchers at MIT—Prof. Daniel Nocera and Dr. Matthew Kanan—have developed a new water-splitting catalyst that is easily prepared from earth-abundant materials (cobalt and phosphorous) and operates in benign conditions: pH neutral water at room temperature and 1 atm pressure. A report on their discovery was published online 31 July 2008 in the journal Science.
The cobalt-phosphorous catalyst targets the generation of oxygen gas from water—the more complex of the two water-splitting half-cell reactions required (H2O/O2 and H2O/H2). Another catalyst generates the hydrogen. Although the new catalyst requires further work, it opens a very promising pathway for the development of systems that use artificial photosynthesis to store solar energy on a large scale in the form of O2 and H2 for subsequent use in a fuel cell.
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Gore’s Challenge to the US: 100% Zero-Carbon Electricity in 10 Years
July 17, 2008
In a major speech given today at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington DC, former Vice President Al Gore challenged the US to end its reliance on carbon-based fuels and to “commit to producing 100 percent of our electricity from renewable energy and truly clean carbon-free sources within 10 years.”
While the primary focus of his speech was on power generation, Gore noted that the value and efficiency of an advanced, unified national power grid could be further increased by helping the auto industry switch to the manufacture of plug-in electric cars. “An electric vehicle fleet would sharply reduce the cost of driving a car, reduce pollution, and increase the flexibility of our electricity grid.”
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Lotus to Introduce Eco Elise Demonstrator at British Motor Show
July 09, 2008
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| The Eco Elise, with rooftop solar panels. Click to enlarge. |
Lotus will unveil its “Eco Elise” technology demonstrator at the upcoming British International Motor Show, 23 July - 3 Aug in London. Unlike some of Lotus’ other initiatives, this demonstrator focuses less on tailpipe CO2 and more on materials, manufacturing and design.
Renewable materials. Sustainable hemp technical fabrics have been used as the primary constituent in the composite body panels and spoiler. The hemp fibers have also been used in the manufacture of the lightweight Lotus designed seats. An additional benefit of using hemp is that it is a natural resource that requires relatively low energy to manufacture. The hemp material is used with a polyester resin to form a hybrid composite. Lotus hopes that a fully recyclable composite resin will be viable in the short-term future.
