DOE awards $2.7M to U Florida, Synhelion to support production of hydrogen from concentrated solar

Synhelion and its associate the College of Florida introduced that their joint challenge has been awarded US$2.7 million from the US Division of Vitality Photo voltaic Vitality Applied sciences Workplace (SETO). The challenge goals to speed up the large-scale improvement and deployment of concentrating photo voltaic thermal energy (CSP) expertise to supply inexperienced hydrogen for industrial decarbonization and electrical energy technology and storage.

The challenge goals to allow large-scale manufacturing of inexperienced hydrogen from photo voltaic vitality by leveraging concentrating solar energy (CSP) infrastructure and photo voltaic warmth to separate water (H₂O) into hydrogen (H₂) and oxygen (O₂).

Synhelion’s expertise delivers high-temperature photo voltaic course of warmth past 1,500 °C, enabling the decarbonization of business processes and the manufacturing of sustainable fuels.

Shut-up of Synhelion’s proprietary photo voltaic receiver, which delivers high-temperature course of warmth past 1,500 °C.

For this challenge, Synhelion and College of Florida (UF) will collectively develop a photo voltaic reactor powered by high-temperature photo voltaic thermal vitality to supply hydrogen gasoline from water and daylight. The hydrogen produced can then be saved, transported, and utilized on demand, for instance in transportation sectors which can be targeted on decarbonizing their industries.

The manufacturing prices of inexperienced hydrogen stay a significant barrier to wide-scale adoption within the transportation sector. The challenge group will work to enhance the effectivity and value of photo voltaic thermochemical hydrogen manufacturing by profiting from new redox supplies. Redox supplies are reactive supplies that allow the chemical reactions within the reactor.

The joint challenge of College of Florida and Synhelion was awarded as a part of the SETO’s Fiscal 12 months 2022 CSP Analysis, Growth, and Demonstration funding program, an effort to decrease the price of CSP applied sciences and create new market alternatives for the trade, with the purpose of enabling substantial deployment of CSP to decarbonize the electrical energy grid and vitality system.

It’s one among a number of tasks that can allow concentrating solar-thermal applied sciences with thermal vitality storage to be built-in with high-temperature industrial processes to supply economically necessary merchandise, resembling cement, fuels, and different chemical compounds.