Solar Fuel Production- CO2 reduction
70% of worldwide energy used today derives from fossil fuels. To change this, the production of fuels that are carbon neutral is viewed as the next step after solar energy consolidates as one of the most important sustainable energy sources on the planet.
A photo-electrochemistry that mimics photosynthesis in the conversion of CO2 and water into clean fuels seems as one of the most well-grounded approaches to obtain storable energy while contributing to fight the climate change. In the ONPV group we consider several nano-photonic based approaches to obtain a broadband sunlight absorption for the most effective conversion of sunlight into storable chemical energy. Such approaches may consider, among others, photoelectrochemical cells in a tandem structure incorporating, for instance, a transparent organic photovoltaic cell, a perovskite (PVK) solar cell, and a photonic nano-structuring for an optimally balanced and enhanced absorption.