About the project
Solar-powered water electrolysis for the production of pure hydrogen is an established technology, but the high cost due to the complexity of the system makes it difficult to compete with hydrogen produced by fossil fuels.
Integrating the solar cell with the water electrolyzer into a single, simpler, monolithic device is the way to go. PH2ON is a collaboration between the University of Oslo (UiO), which develops photo-electrolyzers, and the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), which develops solar cells. Apart from the current technological challenges, clean water sources for hydrogen production could in some locations become a major issue in the future. For this reason, the unique PH2ON device will be able to photoelectrochemically produce hydrogen from water that is present in the atmospheric humidity and can be considered as an artificial photosynthesis process.
The project will run for 3 years and is supported by leading international groups in the field of solar fuels with the ambition to establish a group of scientific excellence in the intersection of photoelectrochemical and photovoltaic technologies.
Financing
The project is funded by the Research Council of Norway, under the FRIPRO-FRINATEK program. Project number 288320.
Cooperation
University of Oslo
Institute of Energy Technology (IFE)
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