The era of personal energy systems is one step closer to becoming an everyday reality after scientists reported the discovery of a new and efficient catalyst that is a key component of such a system
- Improved fuel cell. Image: MIT
The era of personal energy systems - where private homes and small businesses generate the energy they need for heating, cooling and driving cars - has moved another step closer to becoming an everyday reality after scientists reported the discovery of a new and efficient catalyst that is a key component of such a system.
The researchers reported their progress, which could free private homes and businesses from their dependence on the electric company and the nearest gas station, at the 240th National Convention of the American Chemical Society, being held in Boston. "Our goal is to turn every home into an independent electric power station," said the head of the study, Dr. Daniel Nocera. "We are working towards the development of "personal" energy units that can be produced, distributed and installed at a low cost. Of course, there are major obstacles that must be overcome - for example, the fuel cells and solar cells that exist today must be improved. Nevertheless, it is certainly possible to imagine villages in India or Africa that will soon be able to purchase such a cost-effective basic system.
Such a system will consist of solar panels that will be installed on the roofs of the houses and that will generate electricity for heating, cooling, lighting and charging electric vehicle batteries. The excess amount of electricity will be transferred to an "electrolyzer", a device that breaks down ordinary water into its two components - hydrogen and oxygen. Both will be stored in containers. At night, when the solar panels stop generating electricity, the system will reverse its direction and feed the separately stored hydrogen and oxygen into a fuel cell that generates electricity (with clean drinking water as the byproduct). Such a system will be able to generate clean electricity at all hours of the day, all days of the week - even when the sun is not shining.
The report by the researchers from MIT University focused on the electrolyzer, which requires catalysts for its operation - substances that accelerate chemical reactions such as the one responsible for breaking down water into hydrogen and oxygen. Good catalysts are already available to activate the part in the electrolyzer that produces hydrogen. However, stable and cheap catalysts for the production of oxygen are still lacking in the market. The new catalyst fills this gap and improves oxygen production two hundred times. The development of the new catalyst removes the need for expensive platinum catalysts and consequently also the toxic chemicals used in their production.
The new catalyst has been licensed to the Sun Catalytix company, whose vision is to develop safe and highly efficient versions of electrolaser suitable for homes and small businesses within two years. The research group received a funding grant that will be devoted to the search for similar compounds that could further improve the efficiency of the electrolaser technology. The researchers hope that the nickel-borate material belongs to a family of compounds capable of yielding highly efficient and long-term energy storage technologies.
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I didn't know that the fuel cells were designated as part of a unit for independent power supply to the house!
Here's something else to learn!
Personally, I have been thinking for several months about producing new energy (since I was looking for an apartment in Arad - there is a connection) completely from an inexhaustible source, and I mean energy produced from the basis of matter while utilizing the electronuclear activity!
I thought about what name would suit her (you know how it is, a name is half the work) and I came up with the temporary name "Quantum Energy"!
I am also thinking about driving transportation and everything else in the new energy (currently only exists in my imagination) .. what is interesting about this idea in contrast to the others I had on the subject of energy (some 7, including a gravity wheel for those who know) in which I was more careful .. this time I am sure of the chances of success of The actual development of the idea (this requires the use of almost everything that science has invented and discovered in the last hundred years)!
What do you think of the idea (maybe there will be nano generators)? What do you think the chances are that something will come out of it?
I am in the stage of preparing to search for an elementary particle physicist who will agree to work for a modest salary (5000 per month) with huge bonuses if it matures into something real... the question now is whether to buy a line of coffee machines (laughing and not laughing) which with a few hours of work a week will generate a nice profit or buy A for-profit math teaching college (there is such a thing, it's real) that costs NIS 120, or a hotel website in New York for 60 (invested website), etc. Or as mentioned this idea!
I've given you a taste of what's going on in my head.. Nevertheless, if there is a dervish and stable physicist at the beginning or towards the end of his career for whom this adventure is suitable, feel free to leave details and I'll get back to him
To my people and Nimrod,
It is indeed a mistake in translation.
This error has been corrected following your comments.
Thank you and sorry.
It's a shame they don't go into detail about the new catalyst... the main thing is there is a catalyst... what does it consist of exactly?
The matter of two hundred orders of magnitude is a bit far-fetched, two hundred times much more logical, in any case this is an important discovery that can give a serious boost to the entire field of fuel cells and it is something that humanity really needs.
If they connect it to hygroelectrical panels (which is a device that draws electricity from the humidity in the air) it will be a particularly good solution for geographical areas with high humidity
The new catalyst fills this gap and improves oxygen production by two hundred orders of magnitude???
Two hundred orders of magnitude is ten times to the power of two hundred. And this is of course not the ability of the catalyst.
Here we are talking about two hundred times which is actually an increase of two orders of magnitude.
Also, anywhere there is a fire there is a safety regulation issue so I wouldn't put all my money on this starter right now.
Best regards,
Ami Bachar