Research on artificial photosynthesis makes progress

MIT Technology Review : The Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP) was established by the Department of Energy in 2010 as one of the agency’s Innovation Hubs. Now the center’s researchers have demonstrated a device that uses solar energy to electrolyze water. Electrolysis produces hydrogen gas, which can be stored and used to generate electricity. With conventional electrolysis, it costs between $10 and $20 to produce the amount of hydrogen fuel equivalent to one gallon of gasoline. Solar electrolysis could reduce that cost to $2–4, according to JCAP director Nathan Lewis. The system that JCAP developed combines electrolysis catalysts with solar cells to produce a less complex system of electrodes that have a lifetime of 1000 hours. Although that is not long enough for commercial devices, it shows significant progress. However, the $122 million originally provided to JCAP will run out later this year unless Congress provides more funding.