Project description
Bringing liquid solar fuels closer to commercialisation
While the concept of using solar energy to drive chemical reactions that make fuels has been around for decades, the technology still has some way to go before it can be cost-efficient and scalable for industrial applications. The EU-funded Sun-To-X project will firstly use solar energy and ambient humidity to produce hydrogen. Then, using concentrated solar energy, the hydrogen will be reacted to form a non-toxic, energy-dense liquid fuel called Hydrosil for direct use in the transport and energy sectors, with water as the only emission. Its breakthrough innovation has the potential to remove many barriers hindering the deployment of zero emission liquid fuels.
Objective
The Sun-to-X project will contribute to European Commission targets for clean energy for all and circular economy by developing a system for the conversion of solar energy into storable chemical fuel. While the concept of solar-to-chemical fuels has been around for decades, the technology has been limited by the economic viability and scalability of the technology.
The Sun-to-X project focuses on using solar energy to produce a carbon-free, non-toxic, energy-dense, liquid fuel - Hydrosil, with very good long-term stability, which is applicable in the transport and energy sectors. We will firstly produce hydrogen as chemical intermediate through a photoelectrochemical device. This will then be converted to Hydrosil through a thermochemical reaction.
The novelty of our proposal lies in the following three key aspects:
1. Overcoming the known practical challenges of high-performance photoelectrochemical fuel production by using membrane photoelectrode assemblies which can operate with solar energy using only ambient humidity as the water supply
2. Developing reactors for and demonstrating the renewable production of Hydrosil for the first time, using a thermochemical process (using concentrated solar light)
3. Demonstrating a completely decarbonised energy cycle with liquid fuels
In addition, we will demonstrate the applicability of Hydrosil towards the transition to a circular economy, by using it for the valorisation of waste plastics.
Fields of science
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsliquid fuels
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsrenewable energysolar energy
- natural scienceschemical sciencesphysical chemistrythermochemistry
- social scienceseconomics and businesseconomicssustainable economy
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinator
1140 Bruxelles / Brussel
Belgium