The University of Leuven in Belgium has worked on the Solhyd project, which is an exceptionally innovative idea for the solar panels to directly produce hydrogen from the sun and moisture in the air. This approach to hydrogen production has attracted the interest of the public and investors, thus placing Solhyd at a vantage point for becoming a game changer in the renewable energy industry.
The Solhyd hydrogen panel functions on a mechanism that makes it different from the normal solar panel and the electrolyzers. Broadly speaking, it integrates a regular PV panel with another specially designed layer, which generates hydrogen. The process starts with the adsorption of water vapor from the moist air, something the material excels at, especially during humidity.
This provides water vapor, which is then stored within the panel, absorbs it to provide the coil, and then directs some gaseous endothermally into the panel. That is, in sunlight, the panel’s photoelectrochemical cell decomposes the stored water vapor into hydrogen and oxygen gases.
This solar panel is so futuristic, it “ignores” sunlight: That’s how it works with the air
One of the significant components of this system is the membrane, which has the unique utility of collecting and focusing water vapor into the conversion cell. One of the patented techniques that differentiates the Solhyd approach is this membrane technology. The electricity from the top layer of the solar panel is used to turn the catalysts, which in turn break down the extracted air and water molecules.
This process happens independently of liquid water as well as not being tied to the power grid, making it a stand-alone system for hydrogen generation. To put the Solhyd panel’s performance into perspective, here are some key figures:
- One single module can generate about 6 kg of hydrogen per year in the northwestern European climate.
- For this type of module, the production may go up to twelve kilograms per module per year, especially in sunny areas.
- If equated to a roof installation that is half as large and has 20 hydrogen panels, then per year, the pant may generate 120 kg to 240 kg of hydrogen, which equates to about 4 MWh to 8 MWH of hydrogen energy.
- The panels function with a peak efficacy of 15%, for real-world efficiency, the aim is at 12% and above.
The Solhyd solar panel, to revolutionize the way energy is produced
The Solhyd hydrogen panel boasts several notable features that contribute to its efficiency and versatility:
- Compatibility: The panels are suitable to be used with most commercial PV modules on the market and are made of high quality. This makes its integration with other solar systems, especially the current models, easy to accomplish.
- Production capacity: Each panel has the capability of generating up to 250 liters of hydrogen per day if optimized.
- Efficiency: The efficiency of the technology to convert sunlight into hydrogen gas is at its best of 15%. The team is aiming for a real-life efficiency of 12% and above.
- Scalability: The annual hydrogen yield with Solhyd panels installed on a 1,000-square-meter roof ranges from 2 to 4 tons.
- Climate adaptability: When used in different parts of the world, the panels have been found to work, with performance largely determined by the amount of solar radiation.
This invention is much more than a hydrogen solar panel, it is a proposal for the future that will solve the problem of the shortage of materials that we have been trying to solve for decades. We have seen it with silicon and, especially, with perovskite, but now we have a much more abundant and easy to find one that, to top it off, is super-efficient. Will we see it spread all over the planet? At the moment, nothing is clear, although everything points to it being a revolution.