Like a tree’s leaf, Toyota’s solar panel can photosynthesize CO2 into fuel
Hans · Oct 7, 2021 06:04 PM
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Currently, photovoltaic solar panels are used to convert sunlight into electricity. But the best solar panel is the ones that nature has – the green leaf, which uses sunlight to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) and water into oxygen and sugar – essentially food for plants.
It’s the most effective carbon reduction effort. So if you are genuinely concerned about the environment, talk less about hybrid or electric cars, and plant more trees.
Fun fact: one big tree has the cooling effect of up to two air-conditioners (when measured against energy consumed).
So what if we have a different kind of solar technology, one that is capable of amplifying what a plant is doing, and use sunlight to convert heat trapping CO2 into oxygen, or even fuel!
It’s the holy grail of carbon reduction efforts, and Toyota appears to have cracked the problem.
It uses sunlight, converts water into oxygen, carbon dioxide into formic acid
Toyota Central R&D Labs – the basic science (as in the foundation of all applied science, not your school-level science) research arm of the Toyota Motor Group, recently announced that it has developed a solar panel that is capable of artificial photosynthesis.
Not just that, its solar-powered artificial photosynthesis has an overall efficiency of 7.2 percent. Sounds very low, but it’s actually better than a tree’s leaf, which has an overall efficiency of less than 6 percent (different calculations / definition will yield different values).
Toyota’s 36 x 36 cm large solar panel will absorb sunlight, water, and CO2 to produce oxygen, leaving behind an organic formic acid substance – which is essentially energy stored in chemical form. In other words, it’s fuel.
The formic acid substance can be used to generate hydrogen, or be used as fuel.
Toyota says it hopes to commercialize its artificial photosynthesis technology by 2030.
Basic principles of artificial photosynthesis
At its current state of progress, the artificial photosynthesis can only convert CO2 in water, so it’s still some years away from pulling CO2 from air.
Possible applications include trapping CO2 emitted from factories or fossil fuel power plants.
Over 15 years of experience in automotive, from product planning, to market research, to print and digital media. Garages a 6-cylinder manual RWD but buses to work.
