hydrogen It is slowly but relentlessly approaching our daily lives. Belgian scientists have succeeded in creating a system that will soon be on the market and that makes it possible to obtain this element in sufficient quantity through solar panels. to supply a home throughout the year. This is the Solhyd project, which can produce 250 liters of gas. Daily green hydrogen with a single panel.
This technical advance was the work of a group of researchers from the University of Louvain in Belgium, who developed photovoltaic panels aimed at producing hydrogen by combining solar energy and air humidity. Therefore, its task is not to generate electricity, but to produce one of the elements necessary to obtain hydrogen.
These panels use solar energy to split water molecules (H2O) only into hydrogen, allowing to obtain valuable gas in a completely clean way without resorting to fossil fuels.. It is a green hydrogen similar to what is already obtained at large plants, but locally.
Although these solar panels are similar in appearance to the photovoltaic type installed on roofs, in this case they are connected to each other by gas cylinders, not electrical wires.
“These panels produce hydrogen gas from sunlight and air with a power conversion efficiency of up to 15 percent. It’s a world record.. In fact, the process is so fast that you can literally see hydrogen bubbles appear as soon as sunlight hits the surface. Thanks to this unique combination of physics and chemistry, you can produce an average of 250 liters of hydrogen gas per day with a single panel. Additionally, the panels are more efficient than conventional hydrogen gas generation methods,” confirm the authors of the invention.
Compatible with conventional plates
The system has the following advantage: Compatible with the latest photovoltaic modulesthis assumes significant savings in costs and the use of existing technology.
Also these hydrogen panels operate at very low pressure, which means great safety and low cost. Moreover, produced hydrogen can be stored indefinite
But what is the capacity of this system in a practical situation? According to those responsible for this design, one of these panels can produce up to 250 liters of hydrogen per day. Twenty of these plates will have the capacity to provide heating and electricity to a conventional family house (equipped with the usual electrical appliances) throughout the winter.by means of a heat pump. In addition, if they are installed together with a solar collector and conventional solar panels, you can produce year-round heat and energy in the same house.
The aim of those responsible for the Solhyd project is to start producing it on a commercial scale, and they are getting help from the Belgian government to manufacture the pilot units for it. Units manufactured and installed operate satisfactorily and production is expected to reach 5,000 panels per year by 2026. Solhyd is confident that from then on, the prices of these devices will be comparable to conventional solar panels.
Reference article: https://stories.kuleuven.be/nl/verhalen/doorbraak-in-groene-energie-dankzij-wetenschappers-van-ku-leuven
Solhyd website: https://solhyd.org/en/
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Contact address of the environment department: crizclimatica@prensaiberica.es
Source: Informacion
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