{"id":2236,"date":"2022-12-13T13:40:48","date_gmt":"2022-12-13T13:40:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/horizon.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=2236"},"modified":"2022-12-13T13:41:14","modified_gmt":"2022-12-13T13:41:14","slug":"eu-awards-e5-million-prize-to-research-team-for-harnessing-the-sun-to-make-fuel-from-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/2236\/eu-awards-e5-million-prize-to-research-team-for-harnessing-the-sun-to-make-fuel-from-water\/","title":{"rendered":"EU awards \u20ac5 million prize to research team for harnessing the sun to make fuel from water"},"content":{"rendered":"

Enough sunlight hits the earth to meet its entire energy needs, offering the promise of cheap fuel to power vehicles, machines and heavy industries.<\/p>\n

By<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0ALEX WHITING<\/p>\n

A research team led by the University of Tokyo won a \u20ac5 million European Union prize this month for coming up with a novel way to make abundant and cheap fuel from sunlight.<\/p>\n

In the scramble to find alternatives to fossil fuels, the EU competition aimed to accelerate development of one of the most promising new technologies\u00a0\u2013 artificial photosynthesis\u00a0\u2013 in a spirit of fostering international collaboration over the most promising clean-energy paths.<\/p>\n

Big potential<\/strong><\/p>\n

The technology mimics natural photosynthesis in which plants use rays from the sun to transform water into\u00a0oxygen and carbon\u00a0dioxide into\u00a0chemical energy in the form of glucose.<\/p>\n

Artificial photosynthesis uses sunlight to split water into oxygen and hydrogen. Oxygen is released into the atmosphere and hydrogen can be used as fuel.<\/p>\n

\u2018Artificial photosynthesis has the potential to provide a huge amount of green fuel,\u2019 Professor Kazunari Domen, the winning team\u2019s coordinator, said in an interview after the European Commission announced the award on 5 December in Brussels.<\/p>\n

Composed of scientists from the University of Tokyo and Japanese energy company INPEX, the team was among 22 applicants for the\u00a0Fuel from the Sun<\/a>\u00a0prize and made it on to a shortlist of three finalists before emerging victorious. The two runners-up were from France and Britain.<\/p>\n

The contest took place in the framework of a global initiative called\u00a0Mission Innovation<\/a>, which\u00a0brings together 24 countries and is spurring research activities and investments in a bid to make clean energy universally accessible and affordable.<\/p>\n

\u2018The prize was awarded to the winning team for the high degree of professional engineering and integration,\u2019 said the Commission.<\/p>\n

If artificial photosynthesis can be done cheaply enough, it could replace oil, natural gas and coal for all sorts of vehicles, machines and industries including chemicals that cannot be powered by renewable electricity alone.<\/p>\n

Although sunlight is abundant and free, many of the methods for converting it into fuel are too expensive – or too difficult to scale up – to compete with fossil fuels.<\/p>\n

Engine test<\/strong><\/p>\n

The winners\u2019 prototype has the potential to be both cheap and easily scalable.<\/p>\n

Contestants had to develop a device that used artificial photosynthesis to create enough fuel to power a small engine. The devices were run outdoors and tested for the amount of fuel they produced, its composition and its ability to power the engine.<\/p>\n

The winning system used photocatalysts in contact with pure water.<\/p>\n

Photocatalysts are ultrafine particles that absorb the sun\u2019s energy and trigger the water to split. The resulting hydrogen was then combined with carbon dioxide to produce methane, which was used to run the engine.<\/p>\n

Because photocatalysts are a simple way to convert sunlight into chemical energy, they hold out the hope of making low-cost green hydrogen, said Prof Domen, a professor at the University of Tokyo and Shinshu University.<\/p>\n

Green hydrogen<\/strong><\/p>\n

The challenge of the contest was to build a fully functional prototype of an artificial photosynthesis-based system that can produce a useable synthetic fuel.<\/p>\n

\u2018Our project has so far targeted the production of hydrogen, but thanks to this competition we gained important insights into the synthesis of green fuels like methane that are more favourable for storage and transport,\u2019 Prof Domen said.<\/p>\n

The hydrogen produced in the winning system can be deemed green, he said.<\/p>\n

Today green hydrogen, made with renewable energy including solar and wind, accounts for\u00a0less than 1%<\/a>\u00a0of total hydrogen produced, according to the International Energy Agency.<\/p>\n

The current cost of producing green hydrogen is so high that the activity is unprofitable without government support, according to Prof Domen.<\/p>\n

His team\u2019s priority now is to find a more effective photocatalyst.<\/p>\n

The winning device achieved about 0.6% efficiency \u2013 meaning that around 99% of the energy was lost. To make such a fuel commercially viable, the catalyst will need to deliver at least 5% efficiency, said Prof Domen.<\/p>\n

\u2018We have already found several candidate materials which can deliver efficiency of 5% or even 10%,\u2019 he said. \u2018So I believe that we can do that in the near future.\u2019<\/p>\n

Market hurdles<\/strong><\/p>\n

If successful, the team should be able to overcome the remaining barriers to commercialisation within years – rather than decades – in collaboration with industry partners, he said.<\/p>\n

One hurdle that Prof Domen is confident of clearing is regulatory.<\/p>\n

While the combination of hydrogen and oxygen is \u2018explosive\u2019, he said, \u2018we know how to handle the mixture safely.\u2019<\/p>\n

Another obstacle is developing cheap reactors and improving the separation of the hydrogen from the mix.<\/p>\n

If successful, the final production plants will comprise very thin containers of water and photocatalysts, which are exposed to sunlight.<\/p>\n

About 10 000 plants, each covering 25 square kilometres, would need to be built by 2050 to meet one third of the world\u2019s energy needs, according to Prof Domen.<\/p>\n

Profit prospect<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Many industry people told me that if they can make money, then 10 000 plants is not impossible,\u2019 he said. \u2018It really depends on whether they can make money or not.\u2019<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, as his team races to find a more effective photocatalyst, Prof Domen says the Fuel from the Sun prize will help turn sceptics of the method into proponents of it.<\/p>\n

\u2018Most people don\u2019t believe photocatalysts would work,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

This article\u00a0 was originally published\u202fin <\/em>Horizon<\/em><\/a>, the EU Research and Innovation Magazine.\u202f\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

FUEL FROM THE SUN FINALISTS<\/strong><\/p>\n

The two runners-up for the \u201cFuel from the Sun\u201d prize were the France-based Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission, also known as CEA, and the University of Cambridge in the UK.<\/p>\n

Following are comments made by representatives of two contestants at the 5 December award ceremony:<\/p>\n

CEA<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018We are very happy to have been a part of this very exciting project related to the environmental crisis.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018I would like to congratulate the other contestants and, of course, the winner of the prize. We are really impatient to discover more about the technology you developed and we are, of course, open for collaboration. And we have young researchers that are open to opportunities too in these topics.\u2019<\/p>\n

University of Cambridge<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018It really pushed us to develop these technologies much faster than we would have done otherwise.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Many congratulations to the Japanese team, a very well-deserved winner. We have all been following their work for many, many years \u2013 it\u2019s very impressive. But also the French team many congratulations. We are very pleased to have been in the boat with you and battle for the prize.\u2019<\/p>\n

More info<\/p>\n

Follow the links below to learn more.<\/p>\n