Imagine a solar panel that doesn't just make electricity, but actually turns sunlight and air pollution into liquid fuel. It works like an artificial leaf, capturing sunbeams to rearrange carbon dioxide and water into ethanol or ethylene. This allows us to store solar energy in a bottle rather than a battery.
Solar energy is intermittent and hard to store long-term, while heavy industries struggle to replace carbon-heavy fuels and chemicals with green alternatives.
A photoelectrochemical cell prototype featuring a copper electrode with an organic layer and a light-trapping nano-configuration for broadband sunlight harvesting.
If you are a chemical producer dealing with high carbon emissions and expensive raw materials — this project developed a photoelectrochemical system that converts CO2 into ethylene. This allows you to create high-value C2 chemicals using sunlight instead of fossil fuels.
If you are a fuel provider dealing with the instability of solar power — this project developed a way to store energy as ethanol. This provides a secure, long-term storage method that works with existing fuel tanks and pipelines.
If you are an industrial plant dealing with sectors that cannot be easily electrified — this project developed a catalyst system using earth-abundant materials. This enables the direct production of storable chemical energy on-site using sunlight.
Based on available project data, the project includes a partner (GEM) specifically to analyze sustainable and competitive environmental and cost life-cycle performances, but specific price points are not listed.
Yes, the project includes a laboratory scale prototype and a specific roadmap for up-scaling developed by UNIFE, VIT, and SAULE to ensure the technology is viable for industrial conditions.
Based on available project data, the project is in the research and prototype phase; specific licensing terms or patents are not detailed in the summary.
The technology produces ethanol and ethylene, which are compatible with current fuel and chemical infrastructures, allowing for easier adoption without replacing all existing hardware.
The project runs from 2022-11-01 to 2025-10-31, suggesting that the roadmap for market uptake will be finalized by late 2025.
The consortium is well-balanced for technology transfer, consisting of 8 partners across 5 countries. With an industry ratio of 38% (including 3 SMEs), the project bridges the gap between high-level academic research from institutions like Caltech and UAB and commercial application through partners like VITSOLC and SAULE.
Contact Fundacio Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques (ICFO) in Spain
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