Summary
The FreeHydroCells project aims to create a new photoelectrochemical system capable of clean, efficient solar-to-chemical energy conversion, with hydrogen gas storing the chemical energy. The system would mimic the solar-energy absorption potential of a leaf by arraying cascades of nanometre thick semiconducting materials as buried pn-junctions that, when submerged in water and exposed to sunlight, are capable of freestanding photoelectrochemical water splitting. A number of technological challenges restrict the cost-effective efficiency of clean, green, solar-to-chemical hydrogen, state-of-the-art systems, making it commercially unattractive, and severely limiting hydrogen’s role in decarbonisation. However, the FreeHydroCells project proposes to leverage a number of advancements in thin film materials, devices, and processes to make similar breakthroughs in photoelectrochemical band-engineering for interconnected bands, defect minimisation, thin film thickness uniformity continuity to minimise drift-dominated transit times, carrier doping for high conductivity, carrier type selectivity and, importantly, preventing significant recombination of light-generated carriers by ensuring drift transport under multiple in-built electric fields. These breakthroughs would transform the transfer efficiency of solar-to-chemical energy via the carefully aligned redox potential and propel the photoelectrochemical water splitting reactions to morph solar energy into hydrogen bonds. The new materials system could be cost-effectively realised through modified delivery techniques of atomic layer deposition and chemical vapour deposition in manufacturing-compatible, large-area capable, equipment that is now common in commercial chip and solar cell processing technologies. FreeHydroCells’ multidisciplinary expertise is key to making this substantial science-to-technology leap: to verify a paradigm proof-of-concept for a self-driven system suitable for up-scaling and commercialisation.
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| Web resources: | https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101084261 |
| Start date: | 01-11-2022 |
| End date: | 28-02-2026 |
| Total budget - Public funding: | 3 748 300,25 Euro - 3 748 300,00 Euro |
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Original description
The FreeHydroCells project aims to create a new photoelectrochemical system capable of clean, efficient solar-to-chemical energy conversion, with hydrogen gas storing the chemical energy. The system would mimic the solar-energy absorption potential of a leaf by arraying cascades of nanometre thick semiconducting materials as buried pn-junctions that, when submerged in water and exposed to sunlight, are capable of freestanding photoelectrochemical water splitting. A number of technological challenges restrict the cost-effective efficiency of clean, green, solar-to-chemical hydrogen, state-of-the-art systems, making it commercially unattractive, and severely limiting hydrogen’s role in decarbonisation. However, the FreeHydroCells project proposes to leverage a number of advancements in thin film materials, devices, and processes to make similar breakthroughs in photoelectrochemical band-engineering for interconnected bands, defect minimisation, thin film thickness uniformity continuity to minimise drift-dominated transit times, carrier doping for high conductivity, carrier type selectivity and, importantly, preventing significant recombination of light-generated carriers by ensuring drift transport under multiple in-built electric fields. These breakthroughs would transform the transfer efficiency of solar-to-chemical energy via the carefully aligned redox potential and propel the photoelectrochemical water splitting reactions to morph solar energy into hydrogen bonds. The new materials system could be cost-effectively realised through modified delivery techniques of atomic layer deposition and chemical vapour deposition in manufacturing-compatible, large-area capable, equipment that is now common in commercial chip and solar cell processing technologies. FreeHydroCells’ multidisciplinary expertise is key to making this substantial science-to-technology leap: to verify a paradigm proof-of-concept for a self-driven system suitable for up-scaling and commercialisation.Status
SIGNEDCall topic
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-02Update Date
09-02-2023
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Organisations
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| UNIVERSITY COLLEGE CORK - NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, CORK (Coördinator)
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| BARDS ACOUSTIC SCIENCE LABS
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| COMMISSARIAT A L ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES (CEA)
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| CONSIGLIO NAZIONALE DELLE RICERCHE (CNR)
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| GESELLSCHAFT FUR ANGEWANDTE MIKRO UND OPTOELEKTRONIK MIT BESCHRANKTERHAFTUNG AMO GMBH
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| RHEINISCH-WESTFAELISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE AACHEN - WZL
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| UCC ACADEMY DESIGNATED ACTIVITY COMPANY