Friday, December 18, 2009 at 1:53:10 PM - by Nate Lew
Personal-scale solar energy is essential to meeting the world's energy demands in the next century, Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Daniel Nocera said in the latest issue of Inorganic Chemistry.
Nocera envisions a catalyst that could split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen; the hydrogen, in turn, would be used to generate electricity in a fuel cell. The process is not dissimilar to photosynthesis, the series of reactions by which plants generate energy.
Electricity demand will double by mid-century and triple by 2100, Nocera anticipates, necessitating new energy-generation technologies. Personal solar power could meet the world's energy needs in a sustainable manner, he suggests.
"Point-of-use solar energy will put individuals … on a more level playing field," he said.
Nocera was lauded by Time magazine as one of its 2009 Time 100, a list of the world's 100 most influential people. In an interview with the magazine, he suggested that, by mid-century, global energy needs could be met by splitting a minute amount of water.
And the technology Nocera developed is being refined by a company called Sun Catalytix, which was one of 37 firms to receive a grant from the Department of Energy's ARPA-E program. Only 1 percent of companies that applied were given a grant, the DOE says.
Source: http://solar.coolerplanet.com/News/19521929-%22personal%22-solar-energy-will-help-meet-world's-energy-needs,-professor-says.aspx
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