EMI research group news

As the global energy landscape shifts toward sustainability, innovative technologies for energy conversion and storage are becoming increasingly vital.

DIFFER and Eindhoven University of Technology will jointly receive 700,000 euros to expand research on water-splitting and alternative renewable energy sources. This was announced by NWO. The researchers aim to take live measurements during water-splitting experiments and combine those with modeling.

Water splitting with electricity is a key technology for renewable energy storage. When a voltage is applied to two electrodes immersed in water, the water splits into oxygen and hydrogen gas. This process is called electrolysis. The hydrogen gas can be captured and stored. It can be used in fuel cells, or for the production of sustainable chemicals.

Improving the efficiency of photoelectrochemical cells requires detailed understanding of all that is going on at the electrode surface. In an ACS Catalysis paper, the Bieberle group shows how a novel modeling approach not only explains what is happening, it can also guide selection of better performing materials.

A fresh look at photoelectrochemical cells may boost these devices' ability to convert sunlight into the clean energy carrier hydrogen.