Pathways to electrochemical solar-hydrogen technologies

Shane Ardo; David Fernandez Rivas; Miguel A. Modestino; Verena Schulze Greiving; Fatwa F. Abdi; Esther Alarcon Llado; Vincent Artero; Katherine Ayers; Corsin Battaglia; Jan Philipp Becker; Dmytro Bederak; Alan Berger; Francesco Buda; Enrico Chinello; Bernard Dam; Valerio Di Palma; Tomas Edvinsson; Katsushi Fujii; Han Gardeniers; Hans Geerlings; S. Mohammad Hashemi; Sophia Haussener; Frances Houle; Jurriaan Huskens; Brian D. James; Kornelia Konrad; Akihiko Kudo; Pramod Patil Kunturu; Detlef Lohse; Bastian Mei; Eric L. Miller; Gary F. Moore; Jiri Muller; Katherine L. Orchard; Timothy E. Rosser; Fadl H. Saadi; Jan Willem Schüttauf; Brian Seger; Stafford W. Sheehan; Wilson A. Smith; Joshua Spurgeon; Maureen H. Tang; Roel Van De Krol; Peter C.K. Vesborg; Pieter Westerik

doi:10.1039/c7ee03639f

Pathways to electrochemical solar-hydrogen technologies

Shane Ardo, David Fernandez Rivas, Miguel A. Modestino, Verena Schulze Greiving, Fatwa F. Abdi, Esther Alarcon Llado, Vincent Artero, Katherine Ayers, Corsin Battaglia, Jan Philipp Becker, Dmytro Bederak, Alan Berger, Francesco Buda, Enrico Chinello, Bernard Dam, Valerio Di Palma, Tomas Edvinsson, Katsushi Fujii, Han Gardeniers, Hans GeerlingsS. Mohammad Hashemi, Sophia Haussener, Frances Houle, Jurriaan Huskens, Brian D. James, Kornelia Konrad, Akihiko Kudo, Pramod Patil Kunturu, Detlef Lohse, Bastian Mei, Eric L. Miller, Gary F. Moore, Jiri Muller, Katherine L. Orchard, Timothy E. Rosser, Fadl H. Saadi, Jan Willem Schüttauf, Brian Seger, Stafford W. Sheehan, Wilson A. Smith, Joshua Spurgeon, Maureen H. Tang, Roel Van De Krol, Peter C.K. Vesborg, Pieter Westerik

Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Solar-powered electrochemical production of hydrogen through water electrolysis is an active and important research endeavor. However, technologies and roadmaps for implementation of this process do not exist. In this perspective paper, we describe potential pathways for solar-hydrogen technologies into the marketplace in the form of photoelectrochemical or photovoltaic-driven electrolysis devices and systems. We detail technical approaches for device and system architectures, economic drivers, societal perceptions, political impacts, technological challenges, and research opportunities. Implementation scenarios are broken down into short-term and long-term markets, and a specific technology roadmap is defined. In the short term, the only plausible economical option will be photovoltaic-driven electrolysis systems for niche applications. In the long term, electrochemical solar-hydrogen technologies could be deployed more broadly in energy markets but will require advances in the technology, significant cost reductions, and/or policy changes. Ultimately, a transition to a society that significantly relies on solar-hydrogen technologies will benefit from continued creativity and influence from the scientific community.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	2768-2783
Number of pages	16
Journal	Energy and Environmental Science
Volume	11
Issue number	10
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1039/c7ee03639f
State	Published - Oct 2018

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Environmental Chemistry
Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
Nuclear Energy and Engineering
Pollution

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10.1039/c7ee03639f

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Ardo, S., Fernandez Rivas, D., Modestino, M. A., Schulze Greiving, V., Abdi, F. F., Alarcon Llado, E., Artero, V., Ayers, K., Battaglia, C., Becker, J. P., Bederak, D., Berger, A., Buda, F., Chinello, E., Dam, B., Di Palma, V., Edvinsson, T., Fujii, K., Gardeniers, H., ... Westerik, P. (2018). Pathways to electrochemical solar-hydrogen technologies. Energy and Environmental Science, 11(10), 2768-2783. https://doi.org/10.1039/c7ee03639f

Ardo, S, Fernandez Rivas, D, Modestino, MA, Schulze Greiving, V, Abdi, FF, Alarcon Llado, E, Artero, V, Ayers, K, Battaglia, C, Becker, JP, Bederak, D, Berger, A, Buda, F, Chinello, E, Dam, B, Di Palma, V, Edvinsson, T, Fujii, K, Gardeniers, H, Geerlings, H, Hashemi, SM, Haussener, S, Houle, F, Huskens, J, James, BD, Konrad, K, Kudo, A, Kunturu, PP, Lohse, D, Mei, B, Miller, EL, Moore, GF, Muller, J, Orchard, KL, Rosser, TE, Saadi, FH, Schüttauf, JW, Seger, B, Sheehan, SW, Smith, WA, Spurgeon, J, Tang, MH, Van De Krol, R, Vesborg, PCK & Westerik, P 2018, 'Pathways to electrochemical solar-hydrogen technologies', Energy and Environmental Science, vol. 11, no. 10, pp. 2768-2783. https://doi.org/10.1039/c7ee03639f

@article{ebf0d420580e4b5fac281eacea6f27bd,

title = "Pathways to electrochemical solar-hydrogen technologies",

abstract = "Solar-powered electrochemical production of hydrogen through water electrolysis is an active and important research endeavor. However, technologies and roadmaps for implementation of this process do not exist. In this perspective paper, we describe potential pathways for solar-hydrogen technologies into the marketplace in the form of photoelectrochemical or photovoltaic-driven electrolysis devices and systems. We detail technical approaches for device and system architectures, economic drivers, societal perceptions, political impacts, technological challenges, and research opportunities. Implementation scenarios are broken down into short-term and long-term markets, and a specific technology roadmap is defined. In the short term, the only plausible economical option will be photovoltaic-driven electrolysis systems for niche applications. In the long term, electrochemical solar-hydrogen technologies could be deployed more broadly in energy markets but will require advances in the technology, significant cost reductions, and/or policy changes. Ultimately, a transition to a society that significantly relies on solar-hydrogen technologies will benefit from continued creativity and influence from the scientific community.",

author = "Shane Ardo and {Fernandez Rivas}, David and Modestino, {Miguel A.} and {Schulze Greiving}, Verena and Abdi, {Fatwa F.} and {Alarcon Llado}, Esther and Vincent Artero and Katherine Ayers and Corsin Battaglia and Becker, {Jan Philipp} and Dmytro Bederak and Alan Berger and Francesco Buda and Enrico Chinello and Bernard Dam and {Di Palma}, Valerio and Tomas Edvinsson and Katsushi Fujii and Han Gardeniers and Hans Geerlings and Hashemi, {S. Mohammad} and Sophia Haussener and Frances Houle and Jurriaan Huskens and James, {Brian D.} and Kornelia Konrad and Akihiko Kudo and Kunturu, {Pramod Patil} and Detlef Lohse and Bastian Mei and Miller, {Eric L.} and Moore, {Gary F.} and Jiri Muller and Orchard, {Katherine L.} and Rosser, {Timothy E.} and Saadi, {Fadl H.} and Sch{\"u}ttauf, {Jan Willem} and Brian Seger and Sheehan, {Stafford W.} and Smith, {Wilson A.} and Joshua Spurgeon and Tang, {Maureen H.} and {Van De Krol}, Roel and Vesborg, {Peter C.K.} and Pieter Westerik",

note = "Funding Information: Solar-powered technologies for the electrochemical production of hydrogen through water electrolysis are of significant immediate interest. These so-called {\textquoteleft}{\textquoteleft}solar hydrogen{\textquoteright}{\textquoteright} technologies are able to capture solar energy and efficiently store it as hydrogen for widespread use when demand is high, uniquely for stationary applications, as a mobile transportation fuel, and as a reducing agent for various chemical transformations. This application space complements others covered by alternative technologies that capture solar energy and generate electricity (e.g. photovoltaics) or heat (e.g. solar-thermal systems). Over the past decade, several large research programs around the globe have been implemented with the aim of accelerating the development of the science and technology of solar-hydrogen devices: The Swedish Consortium for Artificial Photosynthesis, the NSF Center for Chemical Innovation in Solar Fuels, the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, The Korean Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, the Institute for Solar Fuels at the Helmholtz Center in Berlin, the Japan Technological Research Association of Artificial Photosynthetic Chemical Process, The VILLUM Center for the Science of Sustainable Fuels and Chemicals in Denmark, the Center for Multiscale Catalytic Energy Conversion and the Towards BioSolar Cells program in The Netherlands, the PEC House and Solar Hydrogen Integrated Nanoelectrolysis Project (SHINE) in Switzerland, and the UK Solar Fuels Network, among others. These large-scale programs, in conjunction with the efforts of small teams of researchers worldwide, have contributed to a clearer understanding of the requirements and challenges of solar-hydrogen technologies,1–10 placing us in an appropriate position to perform an informed assessment on the feasibility of their future deployment. On June 13–17, 2016, fifty-two participants from 10 countries and 32 different organizations with expertise in multiple areas of solar hydrogen gathered at the Lorentz Center in Leiden, The Netherlands (http://www.lorentzcenter.nl/). Participants represented leading research institutions, the industrial sector, social scientists evaluating the societal impact and perception of solar-hydrogen technologies, and delegates from several governments. Attendees with this breadth in expertise and experience in solar hydrogen, and broad topic discussions, made this workshop unique. Over the five days of the workshop multiple topics were discussed and debated, including the state-of-the-art and limitations of materials, device architectures, early-stage market opportunities, and a roadmap for the implementation of solar-hydrogen technologies into large-scale energy markets. Several coupled considerations were examined for successful implementation of solar-hydrogen devices: (1) technical constraints for the robust and stable long-term operation of the system, (2) economic viability and environmental sustainability, and (3) societal impacts and political drivers. The most important outcome Funding Information: The authors thank the Lorentz Center for hosting this workshop and all attendees of the workshop for their invaluable input, vision for solar and/or hydrogen technologies, and candid discussions. We are also grateful to other participants who voluntarily are not co-authors on this manuscript: Peter Achterberg, Sjoerd Bakker, Paulien Herder, Lai-Hung Lai, Eric McFarland, Christophe Moser, Rianne Post, and Martijn Van den Berge. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of any of their funding agencies. SA thanks the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Fuel Cell Technologies Incubator Program under Award No. DE-EE0006963 for support. DFR acknowledges support by The Netherlands Centre for Multiscale Catalytic Energy Conversion (MCEC), an NWO Gravitation programme funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of the government of The Netherlands. MAM acknowledges the support of New York University, Tandon School of Engineering through his startup grant. VSG and KK acknowledge support by the Dutch NanoNextNL programme funded by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs. Part of the material on photoelectrochemical systems presented in the workshop is based upon work performed by the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, a DOE Energy Innovation Hub, supported through the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy under Award Number DE-SC0004993, which provides support for FH. VA thanks the European Commission{\textquoteright}s Seventh Framework Program (FP7/ 2007-2013) under grant agreement no. 306398 (FP7-IDEAS-ERS, Project PhotocatH2ode) and Labex Program (ArCANE, ANR-11-LABX-0003-01). TR acknowledges the UK Solar Fuels Network for his travel bursary. The contributions of DFR and HG were carried out within the research programme of BioSolar Cells, co-financed by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs. PW and HG acknowledge the support by the Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (FOM, Project No. 13CO12-1), which is part of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO). SG is funded through research grant number 9455 from the VILLUM FONDEN. SMHH thanks Nano-Tera Initiative (Grant no. 20NA21-145936) for financial support. MHT acknowledges NSF-CBET-1602886. FB acknowledges financial support from the research programme of BioSolar Cells, co-financed by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs (project C4.E3). DB acknowledges the financial support of Dieptestrategie program from Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials. SH acknowledges support by the Swiss National Science Foundation through the Starting Grant SCOUTS (grant #155876). The views and opinions of the author(s) expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, expressed or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2018 The Royal Society of Chemistry.",

year = "2018",

month = oct,

doi = "10.1039/c7ee03639f",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "11",

pages = "2768--2783",

journal = "Energy and Environmental Science",

issn = "1754-5692",

publisher = "Royal Society of Chemistry",

number = "10",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Pathways to electrochemical solar-hydrogen technologies

AU - Ardo, Shane

AU - Fernandez Rivas, David

AU - Modestino, Miguel A.

AU - Schulze Greiving, Verena

AU - Abdi, Fatwa F.

AU - Alarcon Llado, Esther

AU - Artero, Vincent

AU - Ayers, Katherine

AU - Battaglia, Corsin

AU - Becker, Jan Philipp

AU - Bederak, Dmytro

AU - Berger, Alan

AU - Buda, Francesco

AU - Chinello, Enrico

AU - Dam, Bernard

AU - Di Palma, Valerio

AU - Edvinsson, Tomas

AU - Fujii, Katsushi

AU - Gardeniers, Han

AU - Geerlings, Hans

AU - Hashemi, S. Mohammad

AU - Haussener, Sophia

AU - Houle, Frances

AU - Huskens, Jurriaan

AU - James, Brian D.

AU - Konrad, Kornelia

AU - Kudo, Akihiko

AU - Kunturu, Pramod Patil

AU - Lohse, Detlef

AU - Mei, Bastian

AU - Miller, Eric L.

AU - Moore, Gary F.

AU - Muller, Jiri

AU - Orchard, Katherine L.

AU - Rosser, Timothy E.

AU - Saadi, Fadl H.

AU - Schüttauf, Jan Willem

AU - Seger, Brian

AU - Sheehan, Stafford W.

AU - Smith, Wilson A.

AU - Spurgeon, Joshua

AU - Tang, Maureen H.

AU - Van De Krol, Roel

AU - Vesborg, Peter C.K.

AU - Westerik, Pieter

N1 - Funding Information: Solar-powered technologies for the electrochemical production of hydrogen through water electrolysis are of significant immediate interest. These so-called ‘‘solar hydrogen’’ technologies are able to capture solar energy and efficiently store it as hydrogen for widespread use when demand is high, uniquely for stationary applications, as a mobile transportation fuel, and as a reducing agent for various chemical transformations. This application space complements others covered by alternative technologies that capture solar energy and generate electricity (e.g. photovoltaics) or heat (e.g. solar-thermal systems). Over the past decade, several large research programs around the globe have been implemented with the aim of accelerating the development of the science and technology of solar-hydrogen devices: The Swedish Consortium for Artificial Photosynthesis, the NSF Center for Chemical Innovation in Solar Fuels, the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, The Korean Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, the Institute for Solar Fuels at the Helmholtz Center in Berlin, the Japan Technological Research Association of Artificial Photosynthetic Chemical Process, The VILLUM Center for the Science of Sustainable Fuels and Chemicals in Denmark, the Center for Multiscale Catalytic Energy Conversion and the Towards BioSolar Cells program in The Netherlands, the PEC House and Solar Hydrogen Integrated Nanoelectrolysis Project (SHINE) in Switzerland, and the UK Solar Fuels Network, among others. These large-scale programs, in conjunction with the efforts of small teams of researchers worldwide, have contributed to a clearer understanding of the requirements and challenges of solar-hydrogen technologies,1–10 placing us in an appropriate position to perform an informed assessment on the feasibility of their future deployment. On June 13–17, 2016, fifty-two participants from 10 countries and 32 different organizations with expertise in multiple areas of solar hydrogen gathered at the Lorentz Center in Leiden, The Netherlands (http://www.lorentzcenter.nl/). Participants represented leading research institutions, the industrial sector, social scientists evaluating the societal impact and perception of solar-hydrogen technologies, and delegates from several governments. Attendees with this breadth in expertise and experience in solar hydrogen, and broad topic discussions, made this workshop unique. Over the five days of the workshop multiple topics were discussed and debated, including the state-of-the-art and limitations of materials, device architectures, early-stage market opportunities, and a roadmap for the implementation of solar-hydrogen technologies into large-scale energy markets. Several coupled considerations were examined for successful implementation of solar-hydrogen devices: (1) technical constraints for the robust and stable long-term operation of the system, (2) economic viability and environmental sustainability, and (3) societal impacts and political drivers. The most important outcome Funding Information: The authors thank the Lorentz Center for hosting this workshop and all attendees of the workshop for their invaluable input, vision for solar and/or hydrogen technologies, and candid discussions. We are also grateful to other participants who voluntarily are not co-authors on this manuscript: Peter Achterberg, Sjoerd Bakker, Paulien Herder, Lai-Hung Lai, Eric McFarland, Christophe Moser, Rianne Post, and Martijn Van den Berge. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of any of their funding agencies. SA thanks the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Fuel Cell Technologies Incubator Program under Award No. DE-EE0006963 for support. DFR acknowledges support by The Netherlands Centre for Multiscale Catalytic Energy Conversion (MCEC), an NWO Gravitation programme funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of the government of The Netherlands. MAM acknowledges the support of New York University, Tandon School of Engineering through his startup grant. VSG and KK acknowledge support by the Dutch NanoNextNL programme funded by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs. Part of the material on photoelectrochemical systems presented in the workshop is based upon work performed by the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, a DOE Energy Innovation Hub, supported through the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy under Award Number DE-SC0004993, which provides support for FH. VA thanks the European Commission’s Seventh Framework Program (FP7/ 2007-2013) under grant agreement no. 306398 (FP7-IDEAS-ERS, Project PhotocatH2ode) and Labex Program (ArCANE, ANR-11-LABX-0003-01). TR acknowledges the UK Solar Fuels Network for his travel bursary. The contributions of DFR and HG were carried out within the research programme of BioSolar Cells, co-financed by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs. PW and HG acknowledge the support by the Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (FOM, Project No. 13CO12-1), which is part of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO). SG is funded through research grant number 9455 from the VILLUM FONDEN. SMHH thanks Nano-Tera Initiative (Grant no. 20NA21-145936) for financial support. MHT acknowledges NSF-CBET-1602886. FB acknowledges financial support from the research programme of BioSolar Cells, co-financed by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs (project C4.E3). DB acknowledges the financial support of Dieptestrategie program from Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials. SH acknowledges support by the Swiss National Science Foundation through the Starting Grant SCOUTS (grant #155876). The views and opinions of the author(s) expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, expressed or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Publisher Copyright: © 2018 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

PY - 2018/10

Y1 - 2018/10

N2 - Solar-powered electrochemical production of hydrogen through water electrolysis is an active and important research endeavor. However, technologies and roadmaps for implementation of this process do not exist. In this perspective paper, we describe potential pathways for solar-hydrogen technologies into the marketplace in the form of photoelectrochemical or photovoltaic-driven electrolysis devices and systems. We detail technical approaches for device and system architectures, economic drivers, societal perceptions, political impacts, technological challenges, and research opportunities. Implementation scenarios are broken down into short-term and long-term markets, and a specific technology roadmap is defined. In the short term, the only plausible economical option will be photovoltaic-driven electrolysis systems for niche applications. In the long term, electrochemical solar-hydrogen technologies could be deployed more broadly in energy markets but will require advances in the technology, significant cost reductions, and/or policy changes. Ultimately, a transition to a society that significantly relies on solar-hydrogen technologies will benefit from continued creativity and influence from the scientific community.

AB - Solar-powered electrochemical production of hydrogen through water electrolysis is an active and important research endeavor. However, technologies and roadmaps for implementation of this process do not exist. In this perspective paper, we describe potential pathways for solar-hydrogen technologies into the marketplace in the form of photoelectrochemical or photovoltaic-driven electrolysis devices and systems. We detail technical approaches for device and system architectures, economic drivers, societal perceptions, political impacts, technological challenges, and research opportunities. Implementation scenarios are broken down into short-term and long-term markets, and a specific technology roadmap is defined. In the short term, the only plausible economical option will be photovoltaic-driven electrolysis systems for niche applications. In the long term, electrochemical solar-hydrogen technologies could be deployed more broadly in energy markets but will require advances in the technology, significant cost reductions, and/or policy changes. Ultimately, a transition to a society that significantly relies on solar-hydrogen technologies will benefit from continued creativity and influence from the scientific community.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85055185648&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85055185648&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1039/c7ee03639f

DO - 10.1039/c7ee03639f

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85055185648

SN - 1754-5692

VL - 11

SP - 2768

EP - 2783

JO - Energy and Environmental Science

JF - Energy and Environmental Science

IS - 10

ER -

Pathways to electrochemical solar-hydrogen technologies

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