advertisement
Facebook
X
LinkedIn
WhatsApp
Reddit

Hydrogen and solar renewable energy getting a shot in the arm

It’s been a good week for renewable energy efforts, in two different departments.

GreenFutures magazine has a report on hydrogen being produced from plant matter, in a study conducted by US scientists at Virginia Tech University. In the experiments, hydrogen has been liberated by using mixing xylose sugar with a cocktail of enzymes, water, and a polyphosphate. The mixture is exposed to relatively low heat – around 50 degrees celsius – and yields a high-purity hydrogen gas. The great news here is that the low heat requirement could come from waste heat generated by existing processes, and that means cheap production of hydrogen gas.

Existing processes for extracting the element either need a lot of energy (in the case of electrolysis) or produce excess carbon dioxide (when using steam reforming).

Meanwhile, Sharp has unveiled a new type of solar cell, with record efficiency. The new tech uses triple-junction architecture and manages to be 44.4% efficient. Minimising losses and improving on efficiency is high on the agenda for manufacturers of photovoltaic cells and panels. Giving companies, and eventually consumers, more watts for their square metre is important – and doing so will also ensure that the average house with roof-installed panels can power itself. You know, rather than needing an entire farm of panels to get a mere 1 megawatt of juice.

Sources
GreenFutures
GreenTechMedia

Image source
Shutterstock

 

advertisement

About Author

advertisement

Related News

advertisement