Presentation: Pathway to Green Hydrogen Fuel through Novel Materials, Water and Light for a Renewable Energy Source: The FreeHydroCells Project

1 Presentation to the visiting students of Minzu University of China “Pathway to Green Hydrogen Fuel through Novel Materials, Water and Light for a Renewable Energy Source: The FreeHydroCells Project” Dr Ailbe (Scott) Ó Manacháin (Monaghan) Environmental Research Institute (ERI) University College Cork, Ireland Wednesday, 19 March 2025 Horizon Europe, Cluster 5 ~€3.8M, 40 Months 2 Introduction – Energy in Water https://www.earth.com Earth is ~70 % water! A water molecule (H2O) •2 hydrogen (2H) •1 oxygen (1O) If we can split water •2H H2gas •Endless fuel source •Energy storage H2gas is the most efficient fuel in the universe, and with no harmful emissions! In the FreeHydroCells project, we aim to split water and make H2! But…? 3 Introduction – Energy in Light for H2Fuel ACS Energy Lett. 2021, 6, 9, 3096–3113 https://doi.org/10.1021/acsenergylett.1c00758 https://electroncafe.wordpress.com/2011/04/11/split-that-water-part-i/ In the FreeHydroCells project, we aim to capture enough sunlight to provide the energy to split water and make H2fuel! BUT…splitting water needs ENERGY input!? What free source of ENERGY could we use? Sunlight! NASA/SDO Solar Spectrum Nick84 [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons J Phys. Chem. C 2013, 117, 17879−17893 https://doi.org/10.1021/jp405291g Energy Conversion 1: Solar – Electrical – Chemical Energy Conversion 2: Solar – Thermal – Chemical (PEC) 4 The FreeHydroCells Project In the FreeHydroCells project, we aim to capture enough sunlight to provide the energy to split water and make H2fuel! Novel Materials •Thickness, bandgap, conductivity •Defect saturation, recombination reduction •Solar irradiation & absorption optimisation •Doping as N-type or P-type semiconductor Photoelectrochemical (PEC) Materials Integration & Device/Cell Engineering •Maximum light absorption •Cascading bandgap alignment •Redox alignment •PN-junctions •STH Efficiency (diagnostics and benchmarking) 5 The FreeHydroCells Project PEC Cell-to-System Development and Benchmarking •System Integration •Operationally efficiency •Viable for H2gas collection •Durable with long service life •Good STH efficiency benchmark PEC System Upscaling and Commercialisation •Environmentally-benign •Cost-effective production •Sufficient sustainability •Good life-cycle predictions •Commercially viable In the FreeHydroCells project, we aim to capture enough sunlight to provide the energy to split water and make H2fuel! 6 The FreeHydroCells Project Novel Materials PEC Materials Integration PEC Device/Cell Engineering PEC Cell-to-System Development PEC System Benchmarking PEC System Upscaling and Commercialisation In the FreeHydroCells project, we aim to capture enough sunlight to provide the energy to split water and make H2fuel! Thank you! Questions? 7 Acknowledgements The FreeHydroCells Project Team