Fuel cell vehicles are well and good, but the problem I’ve had with predictions of a hydrogen-based transportation economy is that of efficiency. How can we get cheap, abundant hydrogen? Making electricity from sunlight is inefficient on its own, further compounded by then having to use that energy in electrolysis to reach the ultimate goal: splitting water into its components.
A new technique reported by the New Scientist this month simplifies that process, using sunlight to directly separate hydrogen from water. The process uses gold, indium phosphide, and sulphurous iron with a remarkable 60% efficiency.
The claims are bold: “400 times better at netting photons than organic molecules used in previous systems” and “In fact the 60 per cent figure is probably a worst-case scenario.” The technology is still just a proof-of-concept, but let’s hope that similar efficiencies in the real world materialize soon.
New Scientist: New Way To Split Water Into Hydrogen And Oxygen Developed
