A new technology could make hydrogen fuel cells using water cheap and efficient and allow them to compete with the processes that make hydrogen from natural gas.

The new technology has been created by Nanoptek and does not release any carbon dioxide.

It captures sunlight through the use of titania which releases electrons to split the water and create hydrogen.

Nanoptek has modified the titania to make it absorb more sunlight to make the process cheaper and more efficient.

John Guerra, the founder of Nanoptek, said that a coating of titania has caused atoms to be pulled apart.

"That means you can use light with lower energy - which means visible light," he said.

Mr Guerra also told Technology Review that new technology can be located closer to customers than the large-scale natural-gas processes meaning that transportation costs could also be reduced.

Source:

Cheap Hydrogen: A new process uses sunlight and a nanostructured catalyst to inexpensively and efficiently generate hydrogen for fuel, 31/01/08
http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/20134/?nlid=845
http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/20134/page2/

Ÿ Adfero Ltd