Belgian researchers produce hydrogen using solar panels
A team from the KU Leuven have made a promising technological breakthrough. They have designed a solar panel that produces hydrogen and oxygen directly from the air and sun.
After working on it for 10 years, a team of researchers from the KU Leuven, led by Professor Johan Martens, has designed a photovoltaic panel which, in addition to electricity, produces impressive yields of oxygen and hydrogen. « Since announcing the news, I’ve been getting enquiries from all over the place, » laughs Johan Martens. Industry, universities, potential partners, etc. »
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The process consists of capturing the water contained in the air via the panels. Then, by a chemical process, the water is converted into oxygen and hydrogen. « With a panel measuring one square metre, we can produce an average of 250 litres of hydrogen per day in Belgium, » explains Johan Martens. At this level of production, it is already almost profitable. In Spain, we could get it up to 350 litres a day. »
According to Professor Martens, this new panel design could be used at the neighbourhood, building or community level. « It would be too expensive, not to mention too dangerous, to install a fuel cell and hydrogen tank in every home », he explains. Like natural gas, hydrogen must be stored safely. So the idea is to provide a shared fuel tank and fuel cell for an entire community. Everything is well protected to avoid accidents.
