Problem solved? As a writer of press releases about science and engineering research, I know personally that we shy away from using the term ‘Major Discovery’, but there it is in the headline. Seems you can add up some targeted federal funding, visionary thinking based on the fundamentals and some intuitive hunches et voila’… MIT reseachers hit upon a simple, highly efficient process for solar energy storage.
Inspired by the photosynthesis performed by plants, Nocera and Matthew Kanan, a postdoctoral fellow in Nocera’s lab, have developed an unprecedented process that will allow the sun’s energy to be used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases. Later, the oxygen and hydrogen may be recombined inside a fuel cell, creating carbon-free electricity to power your house or your electric car, day or night.
As we’ve said, solar will be the only source that can address our energy needs and climate change.