by John White

Created on: May 10, 2011

Using a process similar to photosynthesis, Professor Daniel Nocera, the Henry Dreyfus Professor of Energy at MIT, and Matthew Kanan, a postdoctoral fellow, have developed a process that uses the sun’s energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases. These gases can be stored later and used in fuel cells to power all of the electricity needs in your house.

A fuel cell produces electricity when a gas, such as hydrogen, oxygen or methane, is passed through a membrane. The only byproduct of the fuel cell when using hydrogen as a fuel, is water and heat, both of which could be used in your house. This carbon free way to produce electricity could have a large impact on reducing global warming.

The two main components of Nocera’s device are catalysts: one for producing oxygen, the other for producing hydrogen. These catalysts are made up of cobalt metal, phosphates and an electrode. With these components placed in water and set at ambient temperature, electricity is forced through the electrode from a photovoltaic cell or wind turbine as a source, developing a thin film on the electrode that produces oxygen gas. When platinum is used as the catalyst, hydrogen gas is produced, instead, which is a preferred gas for fuel cells over oxygen and methane.

“The new catalyst works at room temperature, in neutral PH water, and is easy to set up,” Nocera said. “That’s why I know this is going to work. It’s so easy to implement.”

Another breakthrough for the school is the solar powered thermoelectric generator that is made through a nanostructure process developed by MIT’s Professor of Power Engineering, Gary Chen. These two innovations have brought the MIT Energy Initiative program to the forefront of solar power development. The program was designed to help transform the global energy system to meet the needs of the future and to help build a bridge to that future by improving today’s energy systems.

Nocera’s and Chen’s discoveries are stepping stones to reducing and possibly eliminating the world’s dependence on fossil fuels.

On a more practical level, Nocera hopes that within ten years, homeowners will be able to power their homes entirely using photovoltaic cells that use excess solar energy to produce oxygen and hydrogen gases for powering fuel cells.

In the near future, these and other similar devices could provide all your electrical needs and allow you to disconnect completely from the power company.

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