Silicon/perovskite tandem solar cells combined with proton exchange membrane electrolyzers for solar hydrogen production

• Using solar energy to convert carbon dioxide into molecules with high heating value is a major challenge in reducing the carbon footprint of industrialized countries. Many concepts have been proposed, but so far limited action has been taken to design, integrate and scale up commercially viable technologies.

  
  

  In this paper, Grégory Cwicklinski, Muriel Matheron, and Sophie Charton et al. from the University of Grenoble, France, and the University of Montpellier, France, report the long-term performance of an autonomous solar-driven device that can continuously convert CO2 into CH4 under mild conditions. It connects a biomethanation reactor to an integrated set of photoelectrochemical cells, combining a silicon/perovskite tandem solar cell with a proton exchange membrane electrolyzer for the production of solar hydrogen from water.

  
  

  In July 2022, at the JRC in Ispra, Italy, the bench-scale device achieved a solar-to-fuel yield of 5.5% (calculated based on global horizontal irradiance) during 72 hours of outdoor operation, demonstrating that redesign and tight integration of proven concepts at the laboratory scale can overcome technical barriers to industrial deployment of artificial photosynthesis processes.

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• Angela R.A. Maragno, Grégory Cwicklinski, Muriel Matheron, Romain Vanoorenberghe, Jean-Marc Borgard, Adina Morozan, Jennifer Fize, Michel Pellat, Christine Cavazza, Vincent Artero, Sophie Charton,A scalable integrated solar device for the autonomous production of green methane,Joule,2024,ISSN 2542-4351.

  
  

  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2024.05.012.