Using Sun's Energy to Split Water Means Solar Power All Night

phorm writes "Reuters is carrying an article about a recent MIT development which may pave the way for solar-energy to be collected for use in low-input periods. According to Reuters, the discovery of the a new catalyst for separating hydrogen+oxygen from water requires only 10% of the electricity of current methods. This would allow storage-cells to function as a form of battery for other forms of energy-collection, such as solar panels. The new method is also much safer (and likely environmentally friendly) than current methods, which require the use of a dangerously caustic environment, and specialized storage containers." sanjosanjo points out coverage of the process at EE Times, which features the MIT group's press release.

Comments

If this is true...

[quantum bit]

What are the implications for things such as water purification, desalination, etc?

Seems like a fuel cell "battery" is just the tip of the iceberg.

Re:If this is true...

[Martin Blank]

I was thinking the same thing. I'm imagining a partially-self-powering desalination setup that cycles through seawater (filtered for particulates), extracts the hydrogen and oxygen, combines it in a fuel cell (which power is then cycled back into the system), then stores the resulting water for later drinking or irrigation.

Re:I have my doubts... but,

[Anonymous Coward]

Lets say your house needs 5000 W.

Let's not. That's more power draw than the total available service into most houses; and most houses don't exactly draw at max for 8 hours straight. Divide your numbers by 5, and you have a more reasonable estimate.

Re:I have my doubts... but,

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

There is the slight question of where and how you store your hydrogen and oxygen in the meantime so, especially for small scale "localized" applications.

You pump water uphill during the day. Then at night, you let it fall downhill and generate electricity from that. We don't need fancy chemical tricks or storage mechanisms to make sporadic energy sources produce constant outputs.

Solar commuter cars won't work and here's the math

[clonan]

Average commute is 15 miles.
Average electric car uses 300 watt/hours per mile (after recoving energy from braking)
Cost effective solar cells are 15%
Surface area of a car is 1.5 square meters.
Solar insulation is 1 kw/h for 5 hous a day (on average)

SOOO...

1.5 square meters * 15% * 1000 watts * 5 hours = 1125 watt/hours

The average commute is 15 miles * 300 watts-hours = 4500 watt/hours consumed.

Solar powered cars won't work until solar cell efficiencies are 50% or better.

Re:Gimme a break

[rah1420]

Show me a technology suppressed by the oil companies

Large format NiMH batteries.

Marketed as the Panasonic EV-95. Or rather, not marketed. You can't buy them. The only vehicles they are currently in now (no pun intended) are three hundred some-odd Toyota RAV4-EVs.

If they are ever sold for use to power traction motors in an electric vehicle, Cobasys will slap Panasonic with an injunction to stop. And you can't buy them at any price other than in very large quantities, and the only people who can buy such large quantities are automakers. Some would say "Not a scam" but the licensing of the technology to exclude certain forms of transportation is REAL.

Who's Cobasys? Just the joint venture between the inventor of the battery, ECD Ovonics, and -- wait for it -- Chevron.

Here are a few citations and examples. Although things seem to be getting better, as they are being licensed in some hybrids now, and they may be expanded to more applications in the future...