Imagine a solar panel that doesn't just make electricity, but splits liquids to create hydrogen fuel. Instead of making oxygen as a byproduct, it turns a cheap waste-like substance called glycerol into a high-value skin-care ingredient. This makes the process safer by avoiding explosive gas mixes and adds a second stream of income to make green hydrogen cheaper to produce.
Green hydrogen production is often too expensive to be competitive. Additionally, traditional water-splitting creates explosive gas mixtures and requires expensive membranes for separation.
A scalable photocatalytic flow reactor using light-absorbing semiconductor particles on a transparent conductive porous support.
If you are a chemical producer dealing with low margins on green hydrogen — this project developed a photocatalytic reactor that produces DHA, which is 50 times more valuable than the glycerol starting material. This creates a secondary revenue stream to offset production costs.
If you are an automotive company dealing with the high cost of green hydrogen fuel — this project developed a system targeting 5% solar-to-hydrogen efficiency. This helps lower the cost of the fuel needed to power your fleet.
If you are a cosmetics company dealing with expensive raw material sourcing for DHA — this project developed a solar-driven method to synthesize DHA from glycerol. This provides a sustainable, green-chemistry route to a key active ingredient.
It couples hydrogen production with the creation of DHA, a product 50 times more valuable than the glycerol input, providing an additional revenue stream to accelerate market readiness.
The project aims to test the synthesis in a 500 cm2 device tested outdoors.
Based on available project data, specific IP or licensing terms are not disclosed, though the project involves a consortium of 8 partners including industry and SMEs.
The project is active from 2024-01-01 and is scheduled to conclude by 2027-06-30.
The system avoids producing hydrogen and oxygen together, which prevents the formation of explosive mixtures.
The consortium is well-balanced for technology transfer, featuring a 38% industry ratio with 3 industrial partners and 2 SMEs. Led by Toyota Motor Europe, the group combines the academic rigor of 2 universities and 3 research centers across 5 European countries, ensuring a path from lab-scale semiconductor research to a physical 500 cm2 demonstrator.
Contact Toyota Motor Europe NV in Belgium
Contact us to explore licensing opportunities for the photocatalytic reactor
