Process to Produce Hydrogen from Water Using Sunlight Reaches 16.2% Efficiency, on Its Way to Meeting DOE Target

Even better would be a self-reproducing critter that converts sunlight and air into an oil substitute. Some super algae or something.

standard way to evaluate PEC (Photoelectrochemical) systems based on how ef fectively they convert energy from the sun into hydrogen. In 2016, the Nati onal Renewable Energy Laboratory broke a standing 18-year world record, dem onstrating 16.2% STH efficiency over the previous 12% STH, well on its way to meeting the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) target of 25%.

ted to do the transforming.

They're way ahead of you:

Yep, from 12 to 16.2% in 18 years. Only another 8.8% to go. Nearly there.

Don't hold your breath.

Jeroen Belleman

We already have those. Lots of plants produce oils fit to be transformed into fuel. The trouble is that it's not economically viable and we don't have enough arable land surface. It drives up food prices, too.

Jeroen Belleman

Even better would be a self-reproducing critter that converts sunlight

Oh dear, filter CO2 out of the air. There's only 400ppm of it! Oh dear, combine it with H2 produced by electrolysis to turn it into fuel.

Words fail me to express how ridiculous this is.

Oh, they seek 30M$ of funding. I see clearer now.

Jeroen Belleman

We've got the odd spare acre of ocean though. That's he place to do it.

NT

The only structures durable enough to survive at sea are ships and oil rigs. Remember the Mulberry Harbours.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

The electrolysis thing is crazy, but trees and such work fine at 400 PPM, so some critter might convert air and sunlight into fuel usefully. And maybe be good to eat too.

Problem is, people keep finding more and more oil and NG.

We need a bit of genetic engineering.

They have to extract it from the air to make the fuel carbon neutral with respect to greenhouse gas emissions.

We have more and more free energy and processes with which to produce hydrogen.

That's about the same rate of progress as PV. The PEC should be at 30% in two to three years tops.

Sea weeds, Algae?

George H.

standard way to evaluate PEC (Photoelectrochemical) systems based on how ef fectively they convert energy from the sun into hydrogen. In 2016, the Nati onal Renewable Energy Laboratory broke a standing 18-year world record, dem onstrating 16.2% STH efficiency over the previous 12% STH, well on its way to meeting the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) target of 25%.

ted to do the transforming.

They exist, but they don't do all that well. Solar cells capture about five times as much of the incident energy. Heavily genetically engineered cells may eventually do better, but they'll need to be pampered to such an exten t that they are unlikely to be competitive.

snip

Natural photosynthesis - in plants as opposed to algae - captures an order of magnitude less energy per unit area than solar cells

That's not a problem. The fact that they insist on digging it up and sellin g it as fuel to push up the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere is.

John Larkin - being the gullible twit that he is - happens to have been suc kered by denialist propaganda that is bought and paid for by the fossil car bon extrraction industry, and is consequently blind to the problems created by rising CO2 level in the atmosphere

Solar cells capture quite a bit more energy per unit area than even the most heavily genetically engineered algae seem likely to be able to manage.

Sugar is a neat form of long term energy storage, but batteries and pumped storage systems give back a much higher proportion of the incident energy.

Technology has come a huge way since the 1940s. Maybe at some point it will become economically viable to design a budget conscious algae container th at can survive at sea. Time for some guesswork: it might feature flexible w alls & sink itself to escape storms.

NT

Totally. But how are you going to keep them together? One nice Force

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

Sure has, but you are aren't going to grow algae on floating computers or Teslas.

It would have to sink pretty deep to avoid getting tangled up. Storms rip up tethered minefields too, even if the tethers are heavy wire rope.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs