SmartEnergyViews

MIT: Harnessing solar energy like plants do

Much more chemical research will be needed to make solar energy technologically and economically viable. When plants photosynthesize, they produce high-energy sugars such as glucose; the chemists aim to produce hydrogen fuel or hydrocarbons such as methanol.

When sunlight strikes the artificial photosynthesis device, high-energy photons will split water into hydrogen and oxygen. One of the researchers' biggest challenges is developing inexpensive catalysts that can split water efficiently. Platinum does the job, but it is very rare and expensive, so the researchers are focusing on more abundant metals, such as iron, cobalt, nickel and manganese.

With hydrogen fuel cells, the need for hydrocarbon fuels isn't clear, at least to me. Maybe it has to do with the distribution infrastructure we already have in place? With that, maybe the idea is that the ability to produce liquid hydrocarbon fuels would result in more immediate, short-term benefit?