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ABSTRACT
This article deals with the photoreactive production of hydrogen from water and solar energy, also known as artificial photosynthesis. It addresses both aspects of the research on new photo-catalysts to efficiently perform the splitting of water, as well as aspects of needed developments in engineering sciences to validate the two possible technologies for the production of solar hydrogen, namely photoreactors and photo-electrochemical cells. The key parameters for the design and optimization of these technologies as well as the maximum achievable performances are presented and discussed on the basis of the analysis of unified knowledge models also outlined in the article.
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Read the articleAUTHORS
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Jean-François CORNET: Université Clermont Auvergne, Clermont Auvergne INP, CNRS, Institut Pascal, Clermont-Ferrand, France
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Jérémi DAUCHET: Université Clermont Auvergne, Clermont Auvergne INP, CNRS, Institut Pascal, Clermont-Ferrand, France
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Fabrice GROS: Université Clermont Auvergne, Clermont Auvergne INP, CNRS, Institut Pascal, Clermont-Ferrand, France
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Thomas VOURC'H: Université Clermont Auvergne, Clermont Auvergne INP, CNRS, Institut Pascal, Clermont-Ferrand, France
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Frédéric GLOAGUEN: Université de Bretagne Occidentale, CNRS, CEMCA Laboratory, Brest, France
INTRODUCTION
Today, there are numerous processes under study in laboratories to produce renewable fuels with very low CO 2 emissions. These fuels are essential for many of our societies' uses, and represent the only credible possibility for massive storage of intermittent renewable energies in the form of chemical bonds. The first fuel to be synthesized, as it is decarbonized and the basis of all other synthetic fuels, is hydrogen (H 2 ). It can be used directly in a heat engine or fuel cell, as a CO 2 reduction reagent, to produce other gaseous or liquid fuels, or to store intermittent energy. By far the most abundant source of renewable energy on Earth is solar energy, which can be used to produce hydrogen (or more generally what are known as solar fuels) by direct photoreactive conversion; this is known as artificial photosynthesis. This article reviews the current state of scientific and technical knowledge on the engineering of hydrogen production by artificial photosynthesis. The main hurdles to be overcome in order to achieve a mature industrial technology are presented and discussed. The two technologies under consideration today, photoreactors and photoelectrochemical cells, are also compared from an original and unifying point of view, using an approach based on knowledge models. Finally, the key parameters for improving performance are detailed, and the theoretical limits that such technologies could reach in different parts of the world are quantified, particularly in terms of hydrogen production speed and energy efficiency.
Sector: renewable energies
Degree of technology diffusion: emergence
Technologies involved: photoreactors, photoelectrochemical cells
Applications: renewable energy production, mobility, solar energy storage
Main French players :
Competitive clusters: Axelera, Derbi, Tenerrdis
Competence centers: Institut Pascal, IFPEN, CEA, CNRS: GDR Solar Fuels
Contact: [email protected]
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KEYWORDS
renewable hydrogen | solar fuels | photoreactors | photo-electrochemical cells
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