New and Renewable Solar Routes to Hydrogen Energy
Lead Research Organisation:
Imperial College London
Department Name: Earth Science and Engineering
Abstract
The UK, together with the international community, is acutely aware of the problems arising from the unsustainable use of fossil fuels, and is increasingly focusing on the development of zero-carbon emission fuels, particularly hydrogen, using renewable energy sources. Of the renewable energy sources under consideration, solar energy is the most abundant and, if harvested efficiently, is capable of meeting global energy needs for the foreseeable future. It is estimated that solar power incident on the earth is 178,000 TW, approximately 13,500 times greater than the total global power demand (or burn rate) in 2000 (13 TW) and 6400 times greater than recent forecasts of the power demand for 2020 (28 TW). Much solar energy research is focused on its direct conversion to electricity in photovoltaic devices, or on its direct conversion to heat in solar thermal devices. A major barrier to all these 'conventional' routes is their prohibitive cost. Here, we propose to exploit low temperature natural biological and photocatalytic processes to develop alternative, and cost effective, methods for harvesting solar energy to produce renewable hydrogen fuels directly, and to explore how these could be embedded within novel, integrated energy production systems, incorporating fuel cell and hydrogen storage technology.The successful scale-up of these solar energy-driven renewable hydrogen generation processes would transform the supply of carbon-less fuel and make an enormous impact on the viability of hydrogen as an energy carrier. It will convert the potential to produce hydrogen in a carbon-free, renewable way into a process reality, and is an essential step on the route to fully exploiting fuel cell technology. It will position the UK as a world leader in one of the very few solutions to a truly sustainable energy future. As such, the impact is wide ranging, scientifically, technologically and commercially.
Publications
Barber J
(2014)
Photosystem II: its function, structure, and implications for artificial photosynthesis.
in Biochemistry. Biokhimiia
Barroso M
(2012)
Dynamics of photogenerated holes in surface modified a-Fe2O3 photoanodes for solar water splitting.
in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Barroso M
(2011)
The role of cobalt phosphate in enhancing the photocatalytic activity of a-Fe2O3 toward water oxidation.
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
Burgess SJ
(2016)
Identification of the Elusive Pyruvate Reductase of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Chloroplasts.
in Plant & cell physiology
Burroughs NJ
(2014)
Solar powered biohydrogen production requires specific localization of the hydrogenase.
in Energy & environmental science
Cao Y
(2012)
Enhanced photocatalytic activity of nc-TiO2 by promoting photogenerated electrons captured by the adsorbed oxygen.
in Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP
Cowan A
(2010)
Water Splitting by Nanocrystalline TiO 2 in a Complete Photoelectrochemical Cell Exhibits Efficiencies Limited by Charge Recombination
in The Journal of Physical Chemistry C
Cowan A
(2011)
Activation Energies for the Rate-Limiting Step in Water Photooxidation by Nanostructured a-Fe 2 O 3 and TiO 2
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
Cowan AJ
(2013)
Charge carrier separation in nanostructured TiO2 photoelectrodes for water splitting.
in Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP
Cowan AJ
(2013)
Long-lived charge separated states in nanostructured semiconductor photoelectrodes for the production of solar fuels.
in Chemical Society reviews
Dechatiwongse P
(2014)
Effects of light and temperature on the photoautotrophic growth and photoinhibition of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium Cyanothece sp. ATCC 51142
in Algal Research
Dechatiwongse P
(2015)
Demonstration of a two-stage aerobic/anaerobic chemostat for the enhanced production of hydrogen and biomass from unicellular nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium
in Algal Research
Del Rio-Chanona E
(2015)
Optimal Operation Strategy for Biohydrogen Production
in Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research
Jing L
(2012)
Dynamics of photogenerated charges in the phosphate modified TiO2 and the enhanced activity for photoelectrochemical water splitting
in Energy & Environmental Science
Komenda J
(2012)
The Psb27 assembly factor binds to the CP43 complex of photosystem II in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803.
in Plant physiology
Leng W
(2010)
Electron Diffusion Length in Mesoporous Nanocrystalline TiO 2 Photoelectrodes during Water Oxidation
in The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters
Michoux F
(2010)
Structure of CyanoP at 2.8 A: implications for the evolution and function of the PsbP subunit of photosystem II .
in Biochemistry
Michoux F
(2014)
Crystal structure of CyanoQ from the thermophilic cyanobacterium Thermosynechococcus elongatus and detection in isolated photosystem II complexes.
in Photosynthesis research
Michoux F
(2012)
Crystal structure of the Psb27 assembly factor at 1.6 Å: implications for binding to Photosystem II.
in Photosynthesis research
Nguyen AV
(2011)
Time-course global expression profiles of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii during photo-biological H2 production.
in PloS one
Pendlebury S
(2012)
Correlating long-lived photogenerated hole populations with photocurrent densities in hematite water oxidation photoanodes
in Energy Environ. Sci.
Pendlebury SR
(2011)
Dynamics of photogenerated holes in nanocrystalline a-Fe2O3 electrodes for water oxidation probed by transient absorption spectroscopy.
in Chemical communications (Cambridge, England)
Pesci F
(2011)
Charge Carrier Dynamics on Mesoporous WO 3 during Water Splitting
in The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters
Shinopoulos KE
(2014)
Using site-directed mutagenesis to probe the role of the D2 carotenoid in the secondary electron-transfer pathway of photosystem II.
in Photosynthesis research
Tachibana Y
(2012)
Artificial photosynthesis for solar water-splitting
in Nature Photonics
Tamburic B
(2012)
A novel nutrient control method to deprive green algae of sulphur and initiate spontaneous hydrogen production
in International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
Tamburic B
(2011)
Design of a novel flat-plate photobioreactor system for green algal hydrogen production
in International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
Tamburic B
(2013)
Process and reactor design for biophotolytic hydrogen production.
in Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP
Tang J
(2008)
Mechanism of photocatalytic water splitting in TiO2. Reaction of water with photoholes, importance of charge carrier dynamics, and evidence for four-hole chemistry.
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
Tang J
(2011)
Mechanism of O 2 Production from Water Splitting: Nature of Charge Carriers in Nitrogen Doped Nanocrystalline TiO 2 Films and Factors Limiting O 2 Production
in The Journal of Physical Chemistry C
Zhang D
(2015)
Modelling of light and temperature influences on cyanobacterial growth and biohydrogen production
in Algal Research
Zhang D
(2015)
Analysis of green algal growth via dynamic model simulation and process optimization
in Biotechnology and Bioengineering
Zhang D
(2015)
Dynamic modelling of high biomass density cultivation and biohydrogen production in different scales of flat plate photobioreactors.
in Biotechnology and bioengineering
Zhang D
(2015)
Analysis of the cyanobacterial hydrogen photoproduction process via model identification and process simulation
in Chemical Engineering Science
| Description | Our key findings are:(i) to identify the molecular pathways involved in solar hydrogen evolution (ii) to identify the catalytic mechanism, and key limiting steps, in nanocrystalline TiO2 catalysed water photolysis, (iii) to identify and produce cost effective photocatalysts at the laboratory scale by fabricating novel materials (iv) to develop reactor models, based on data generated in fundamental studies, to establish the basis for subsequent reactor design and scale up (v) to build novel laboratory scale reactors for solar water splitting (vi) to demonstrate that solar routes can be used for water splitting for hydrogen production |
| Exploitation Route | Hydrogen offers a low carbon energy vector for low carbon energy systems, but must itself be produced from low carbon sources. This work shows that solar energy can be used to produce hydrogen from water, offering the prospect of cost effective low carbon hydrogen. Our research remains at an early stage, but findings are relevant to anyone interested in low carbon routes to hydrogen production. Exploitation routes are through internal patent protection, and/or partnership with industry. |
| Sectors | Energy |
| Description | solar fuels have become a strategic research topic globally, and our work has contributed to this |
| Sector | Energy |
| Impact Types | Societal,Economic |