Scientists Have Bee Designed First Artificial Photosynthesis Facility

Scientists have been studying a way in which to replicate the process of photosynthesis artificially by using a combination of solar cells and an electrolyzer.  This type of water splitting can be used to directly convert solar energy into hydrogen to be used as a universal storage medium.  This particular process was first developed back in the 1970’s but never really caught on until now.

Jan-Philipp Becker and Burga Turan are two Juelich solar cell researchers from the Institute of Energy and Climate Research that set out to achieve a real application in the world of photoelectrochemical water splitting, and they did it.  The duo managed to create a compact, self-contained system made of low-cost, readily available materials and at only 64cm2, it’s relatively small, but carries a flexible design.  The basic unit consists of several solar cells all connected to one another by a laser technique.  Jan-Philipp Becker explains, “This series connection means that each unit reaches the voltage of 1.8 volts necessary for hydrogen production.  This method permits greater efficiency in contrast to the concepts usually applied in laboratory experiments for scaling up.”

This first prototype has a solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of 3.9%, which may not seem much at the moment, but the researchers are confident this will improve.  Even so, natural photosynthesis only achieves an efficiency of around one percent, so this system is already better than the real thing!  The duo has patented their design and are now working towards a market launch, so watch out for this new photosynthesis facility coming soon.

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