A research group at Nagoya Institute of Technology has developed a new fuel cell that stores solar energy as chemical energy.
As the use of electricity derived from natural energy such as solar power, wind power, and geothermal power is required to be expanded, such power generation is unstable and difficult to handle because it is affected by the weather.
On the other hand, for the stable supply of electric power, the construction of a smart grid (a power transmission network that controls the flow of electric power from both the supply side and the demand side) that combines natural energy and large storage batteries is underway, but existing storage batteries are being used. In the power grid based on it, a large energy loss will occur in the process of power transportation and storage.
Therefore, in this research, we conceived a new type of storage battery that directly converts solar energy into chemical energy, such as photosynthesis of plants.Plants use solar energy to convert CO2 into sugar and store it (photosynthesis), and when oxygen in the air is used to break down sugar, chemical energy can be extracted (breathing).In the storage battery developed this time, an organic molecule called AQDS is irradiated with sunlight to convert it to AQDS-H2 (charging), and the energy generated by the reaction between oxygen in the air and AQDS-H2 is output as electrical energy ( Discharge).Since the conversion reaction from AQDS-H2 to AQDS occurs during discharge, it can be used over and over again.
This battery can be regarded as a "light rechargeable fuel cell".Conventional fuel cells use hydrogen, which has a risk of explosion, as fuel, and cannot store electricity only by power generation.However, this battery solves the safety problem by using the organic molecule AQDS-H2, and can be charged in a single device.It discharges only water during the reaction and has a low environmental load, which is the same as a general fuel cell.
Furthermore, since the charging process can be performed not only by irradiating light but also by using an external power source, it is highly compatible with the smart grid.Since this technology can improve the efficiency of natural energy utilization and realize a stable supply of electric power, it is expected that research for practical use will be accelerated.
Paper information:[New Journal of Chemistry] Photo-rechargeable fuel cell using photo-hydrogenation reactions of quinone molecules
