The era of personalized energy systems - in which individual homes
and small businesses produce their own energy for heating, cooling
and powering cars - took another step toward reality today as
scientists reported discovery of a powerful new catalyst that is a
key element in such a system. They described the advance, which
could help free homes and businesses from dependence on the
electric company and the corner gasoline station, at a meeting of
the
American Chemical
Society.
"Our goal is to make each home its own power station," said
study leader Daniel Nocera, Ph.D. "We're working toward development
of 'personalized' energy units that can be manufactured,
distributed and installed inexpensively. There certainly are major
obstacles to be overcome - existing fuel cells and solar cells must
be improved, for instance. Nevertheless, one can envision villages
in India and Africa not long from now purchasing an affordable
basic system."
|
| A new catalyst could help speed development of
inexpensive home-brewed solar energy systems for powering homes and
plug-in cars during the day (left) and for producing electricity
from a fuel cell at night (right). Credit: Patrick
Gillooly/MIT |
Such a system would consist of rooftop solar energy panels to
produce electricity for heating, cooking, lighting, and to charge
the batteries on the homeowners' electric cars. Surplus electricity
would go to an "electrolyzer," a device that breaks down ordinary
water into its two components, hydrogen and oxygen. Both would be
stored in tanks. In the dark of night, when the solar panels cease
production, the system would shift gears, feeding the stored
hydrogen and oxygen into a fuel cell that produces electricity (and
clean drinking water as a byproduct). Such a system would produce
clean electricity 24 hours a day, seven days a week - even when the
sun isn't shining.
SOURCE
