Concentrated solar power for renewable electricity and hydrogen production from water—a review

Abstract

Today's world suffers from an increasing dependence on fossil fuels, either for electricity production, transportation or reagent for the chemical industry. A technological revolution in hydrogen and electricity production is important to support the future needs and lead the world towards a better future. For that, technological and economical barriers have to be broken. Concentrated solar power (CSP) has been proving to be a valid means to start this revolution and produce electricity and hydrogen from completely renewable sources-water and the sun. Although solid steps should be taken to solve the current limitations and increase the technical and economical viability of these projects, there are conditions to begin this revolution using factual bridges from the current fossil technologies to renewable technologies.

Composite manganate oxygen electrode enhanced with iron oxide nanocatalyst for high temperature steam electrolysis in a proton-conducting solid oxide electrolyzer

“…Hydrogen attracts a lot of interest as it can be produced using renewable resources and can also be utilized as a potential green fuel for many applications, such as heating, electricity and vehicles [4,5]. Solid oxide electrolyzers have shown the great advantages of efficient electrochemical conversion of steam into hydrogen using renewable electrical energy because of the high temperature which contributes to energy for the steam dissociation leading to favorable kinetic and thermodynamic properties [6e8].…”

Economics of hydrogen production

“…First, high-temperature nuclear reactors could supply both electricity and high-temperature waste heat to an adjacent production plant (Lubis, Dincer, & Rosen, 2010;Utgikar & Thiesen, 2006). Second, concentrated solar power (CSP) plants could produce both electricity and the required temperatures in a central tower for hydrogen production (Coelho, Oliveira, & Mendes, 2010;Felder & Meier, 2008). The cost of hydrogen production from fourth-generation nuclear reactors has been examined as part of the US Department of Energy Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative program (Bartels et al, 2010).…”

Down-conversion photoluminescence sensitizing plasmonic silver nanoparticles on ZnO nanorods to generate hydrogen by water splitting photochemistry

“…11,12 The solar-powered splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen is a promising means of converting solar energy into a "solar fuel," since both water and sunlight are abundant in the natural environment. 13,14 The generation of hydrogen by photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting under solar illumination is much simpler and more environmentally friendly than by the use of the hydrocarbon fuels.…”