Objectives
The primary objective is to produce hydrogen directly from concentrated sunlight in a novel all-solid-state photoelectrochemical device.
Secondary objectives:
- Explore the physicochemical viability of using a high temperature solid proton conductor in combination with one or two semiconductor electrodes for steam splitting by sunlight.
- Explore the use of heat gradient to create additional driving force by thermoelectric power of protons.
- Explore the use of solar concentrator to heat to sufficiently high temperatures, to thereby evaporate liquid water at one electrode, and thereby create a large thermal gradient for thermoelectric power.
- Establish cross-disciplinary collaboration and common theoretical understanding of solid-state photoelectrochemistry.
- Train one post-doc and educate one PhD in the novel field of solid-state photoelectrochemistry.
Financing
The project is funded by the Research Council of Norway, through the RENERGI programme.
Cooperation
The project is a physics-chemistry collaborative project that educates and trains one PhD and one post-doc over 3 years.