Federal Ministry of Education and Research sponsors chemists with one million euros to investigate sunlight as an energy source for hydrogen cars

"One of the greatest challenges of our time is to meet society's mobility and energy supply needs without producing substances that are harmful to the climate," explains Prof Dr Matthias Bauer from the Department of Chemistry at Paderborn University. "This also includes the conservation of fossil resources, which must be replaced by other, renewable energy sources," the scientist continues. One environmentally friendly alternative to conventional fuels is hydrogen, for example, which can be used to power electric cars. "However, the processes required for the climate-friendly production of hydrogen have hardly been researched to date and possible technologies are largely immature," says Bauer. The chemist is leading a new research project that is now investigating its production through the use of sunlight. The project is being sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research with around one million euros.

Unlimited energy

Bauer: "Hydrogen, produced by unlimited sunlight, is a highly efficient energy source. Together with oxygen, it can be converted into electrical energy. The fuel cells used for this purpose are currently attracting a lot of attention as an alternative to the classic electric drive. The only waste product is water, from which hydrogen can be obtained with the help of catalysts."

In order to improve such chemical processes, which are made possible by the energy of sunlight, highly complex techniques must be used. "These are available at particle accelerators, also known as high-power photon sources. As the reactions take place in the field of a billionth of a second and in some cases even faster, the methods at the PETRA III synchrotron in Hamburg must be further developed in order to advance into this time range," says Bauer, adding: "Then molecular films of the formation of hydrogen can be made, which can be used to improve such processes."

Sustainability has top priority

So far, only precious metals such as platinum have been used for such reactions. "However, these metals will become scarce in the foreseeable future. What's more, their extraction pollutes the environment," explains Bauer. The Paderborn and Hamburg scientists therefore want to go one step further: "By utilising base metals such as iron, we can greatly increase the sustainability of such reactions," says the chemist. It will still take some time before the precious metal-free systems are competitive, but "with the funds that have now been approved, we can come a good deal closer to this goal," Bauer is certain. The project will run until 2022 and the first results are expected in 2020.

Prof Dr Matthias Bauer; Nina Reckendorf, Press and Communications Office