Commercializing Solar Fuels within Today’s Markets

Abstract

Can a solid foundation for the future adaptation of solar fuels be built today? Component technologies developed to efficiently generate fuel from sunlight are finding innovative pathways to commercialization in established markets.

Progress toward Commercial Application of Electrochemical Carbon Dioxide Reduction

“…However, realistic commercialization in the next 10-20 years will be in smaller markets that are receptive to new technologies, especially ones that do not directly compete with low-cost fossil fuels. 58 While this technology's use is often cited as production of liquid fuels, 47,53,[59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67] these markets are difficult to break into with heavily invested incumbent technologies. It is, therefore, more advantageous to focus on applications that emphasize the unique value propositions of CO 2 electrolysis.…”

“…[122][123][124][125][126][127] Ethylene also holds promise as a potentially high-value commodity, and reports of high faradic efficiency under sustained applied potential have been demonstrated. 58 A key next step for ethanol and ethylene systems will be understanding pH and CO 2 concentration control at GDEs to enable sustained partial current density >100 mA cm À2 across the electrode. Under these conditions, high pH has been shown to favor ethylene production with remarkable stability for over 150 hr, 128 while selectivity for ethanol has been improved in similar systems by engineering copper catalyst surfaces.…”

Pathways to electrochemical solar-hydrogen technologies

“…To a large extent, PV-Electrolysis advances can be commercialized by independently optimizing each of the constituent components, 10 i.e. the PV module, the cell stack materials, and the electrolyzer design.…”

Influence of Anion Chaotropicity on the SO2 Oxidation Reaction: When Spectator Species Determine the Reaction Pathway

“…This fact by itself is already a “red alert” and is changing perceptions about energy use, and environmentally friendly energy sources, such as solar, wind power and photovoltaics, are emerging as alternatives of high interest . Together with the use of these sources, energy storage strategies are also needed, and chemical fuels generated by solar energy have emerged as an interesting strategy, the so‐called solar fuels …”