MIT Scientists Copy Energy Storage System of Plant Matter for Solar Applications-

Researchers at MIT have made a “major discovery” which could forever change the future of solar energy. Formerly, solar held limited potential as it was only effective during daytime hours due to highly inefficient and expensive storage technology. Influenced by the process of photosynthesis in plant matter, researchers Daniel Nocera and Matthew Kanan uncovered a unique way to use the sun’s energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases which, later, would be recombined inside of a fuel cell. “This is the nirvana of what we’ve been talking about for years,” said MIT’s Daniel Nocera. “Solar power has always been a limited, far-off solution. Now we can seriously think about solar power as unlimited and soon.” The fundamental difference in their patented process is a new catalyst that generates oxygen gas from water, while another catalyst generates hydrogen gas. The new catalyst consists of cobalt metal, phosphate and an electrode, placed into water. As electricity, from any source, runs through the electrode, the cobalt and phosphate act as a thin film on the electrode. Thus, oxygen gas is produced. When incorporated with another catalyst that can generate hydrogen from water (like platinum), the structure can copy the water splitting process that takes place during plant photosynthesis. A leading researcher in the study of photosynthesis, James Barber, called the breakthrough a “giant leap” toward producing a large-scale, carbon-free energy solution which could potentially meet or exceed the world’s energy needs. “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.” While further engineering must be done to incorporate the discovery into solar photovoltaic applications, Nocera says he is certain that the technology will soon take the market by storm. “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.”

Researcher Daniel Nocera Pictured Above, Image Courtesy of MIT