Cover Image

Efficiency gains for thermally coupled solar hydrogen production in extreme cold

Hydrogen produced from water using solar energy constitutes a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels, but solar hydrogen is not yet economically competitive. A major question is whether the approach of coupling photovoltaics via the electricity grid to electrolysis is preferential to higher levels...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kölbach, Moritz (Author) , Rehfeld, Kira (Author) , May, Matthias M. (Author)
Format: Article (Journal)
Language:English
Published: 01 Jul 2021
In: Energy & environmental science
Year: 2021, Volume: 14, Issue: 8, Pages: 4410-4417
ISSN:1754-5706
DOI:10.1039/D1EE00650A
Online Access:Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1039/D1EE00650A
Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2021/ee/d1ee00650a
Get full text
Author Notes:Moritz Kölbach, Kira Rehfeld and Matthias M. May
Description
Summary:Hydrogen produced from water using solar energy constitutes a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels, but solar hydrogen is not yet economically competitive. A major question is whether the approach of coupling photovoltaics via the electricity grid to electrolysis is preferential to higher levels of device integration in ‘artificial leaf’ designs. Here, we scrutinise the effects of thermally coupled solar water splitting on device efficiencies and catalyst footprint for sub-freezing ambient temperatures of −20 °C. These conditions are found for a significant fraction of the year in many world regions. Using a combination of electrochemical experiments and modelling, we demonstrate that thermal coupling broadens the operating window and significantly reduces the required catalyst loading when compared to electrolysis decoupled from photovoltaics. Efficiency benefits differ qualitatively for dual- and triple-junction solar absorbers, which has implications for the general design of outdoor-located photoelectochemical devices. Similar to high-efficiency photovoltaics that reached technological maturity in space, application cases in polar or alpine climates could support the scale-up of solar hydrogen at the global scale.
Item Description:Gesehen am 06.07.2021
Physical Description:Online Resource
ISSN:1754-5706
DOI:10.1039/D1EE00650A

Similar Items