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.
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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