Yes for Real, We Now Have a Genuine Artificial Solar Leaf
Yet another new breakthrough in low cost solar energy just made its debut, and this one is a doozy: a solar cell the size of a typical leaf, that actually creates energy the same way a leaf does: with photosynthesis. No, for real. You just park it in a bucket of water and it generates enough electricity to power household devices… eventually (more on that below). The announcement was made by the lead researcher on the MIT-based project, Dr. Daniel Nocera, who said, “A practical artificial leaf has been one of the Holy Grails of science for decades.”
Solar Power from an Artificial Leaf
The new solar cell is about about the size of a poker card. It doesn’t produce usable electricity directly, like a photovoltaic cell does. Instead, it is used to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen gasses. These are stored in a fuel cell, which then produces the electricity for household use. The idea is to have the combination of solar “leaf” and fuel cell as an affordable onsite renewable energy appliance that practically anyone could afford, just like a furnace, hot water heater or emergency generator. One sticking point in the research was to find a low-cost catalyst to set off the reaction, and Nocera’s team came up with several alternatives made of nickel and cobalt.
Photosynthesis and Renewable Energy
Though Nocera is apparently the first to come up with a commercially viable, low-cost renewable energy system based on photosynthesis, other researchers are also following the trail. At the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge laboratory, long-running research into a light-harvesting protein from spinach has resulted in a similar hydrogen-producing process.
Affordable Energy, Thank You Federal Government
With oil prices spiking up for the umpteenth time in the past few years, consumers are eager for a solution, and renewable energy is beginning to provide it. When Nocera’s solar leaf is ready for commercial production, we can all pat ourselves on the back: some of our tax dollars have supported his research, through the Department of Energy’s ARPA-E transformational energy program.
Image: Leaf by Kumaravel on flickr.com.
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- High-Efficiency Solar Cells Getting More Efficient, Cheaper (cleantechnica.com)
- Scotch Tape Maker on a Roll with Low Cost Solar “Tape” (cleantechnica.com)
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Stories like this make me want to do a back flip!
I hope I can afford this!
Wikipedia says that photosynthetic efficiency is usually between 3-6 percent.
If this artificial leaf is 10 times more efficient, than we talk about at least 30% efficiency which would be GREAT especially if we consider the average PV efficiency (~15-20%) and the fact that here you get hydrogen out of it which may become possible to store cheaper than electricity directly.
The article seems to be sloppy at places. You obviously don’t “store” hydrogen and oxygen in a fuel cell, but you react them in the fuel cell to get electricity. One stores hydrogen in special storage tanks.
The article doesn’t talk too much about the biggest weakness of hydrogen based systems: the fuel cell. They are still very expensive. Until the Bloom Box or other fuel cell technology doesn’t come down significantly in price, hydrogen based systems will not become viable. Not to say that this is not a great advancement, only I don’t see the “viable” system it talks about.
Bloom Energy should buy into this research heavily because it would eliminate the greatest weakness of their system, that they need natural gas as the source of hydrogen. If they had a completely renewable hydrogen source their system would be THE solution.
By the way: at this solar efficiency, one may consider using internal combustion engines for the electricity generation side instead of fuel cells. It is HUGELY cheaper and one can make them serve both heat and power (CHP).
If the fuel-cell tech is not sufficiently low-tech, ICE-s may be an even better choice for developing countries where servicing ICE engines may be easier/cheaper.
By the way: at this solar efficiency, one may consider using internal combustion engines for the electricity generation side instead of fuel cells. It is HUGELY cheaper and one can make them serve both heat and power (CHP).
If the fuel-cell tech is not sufficiently low-tech, ICE-s may be an even better choice for developing countries where servicing ICE engines may be easier/cheaper.
Could this be the amazing thing that changes everything???? The wild card surprise that totally alters our future?
I’m not saying it is….but what IF it IS?
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how much does this cost
it’s not on the market yet.
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