No matter how abundant or renewable, solar
power has a thorn in its side. There is still no cheap and efficient
long-term storage for the energy it generates.
A new wave is developed with minute metallic-gold
particles used for conversion of sunlight to fuel. This technology is developed
in South Australia, helps storing of solar energy as an option to battery
storage.
The conversion of solar
energy directly to chemical energy in the forms of methanol and methane, is
the innovation of researchers from Flinders University and the University of
Adelaide, in collaboration with quite a few other international institutions
including Canterbury University, Victoria University, and the University of
Utah.
The development process uses dynamic nano-clusters made up of
a number of metallic-gold atoms. The atoms are said to interact with the
molecules in UV light. The team built a device lab-scaled in Adelaide, South
Australia and tested the effectiveness using artificial ultraviolet light.
The researchers say that with the scaling-up, there
would be potential for commercial, industrial, and domestic applications.
Meanwhile, some armies are also fascinated with using the process as a
potential mobile generator that could assist the troops in the field to store energy.
Gunther Andersson, the lead researcher said that the
world need storage that is more reliable. He stated that the special thing with
their work was the use of specific nano-clusters that made the conversion more
efficient. He added that using a gold-based catalyst gave 10 times more product
than with the use of a contemporary catalyst.
According to an estimation, the technology has the
potential for large-scale application, and the dynamic shape of nano-clusters produces
more efficient chemical
energy.
Although there are large-scale batteries, powerful
ones, but the problem is the availability. The batteries are not developed for
all these things yet. To get long-lasting batteries for a reasonable price is a
major challenge at the moment, plus the chemicals used in the batteries are not
very environmentally friendly.
Meanwhile, South Australia is considered as a world
leader in green energy. Around a quarter of houses have installed rooftop solar
panels in South Australia. Moreover, it is also the largest producer of wind
energy in Australia – the state's 1.5GW of wind energy represents almost half
of the country's capability.
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